


Love Dares Greatly

by Lafeae



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Comatose Dreams, Drama, Established Relationship, Fantasy kind of?, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Past Relationship(s), Rekindling Relationship, Romance, Sci-fi kind of?, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 106,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafeae/pseuds/Lafeae
Summary: A hit and run leaves Jounouchi comatose, with the fear that he may not regain consciousness.Kaiba, at the same time, is in the middle of developing a new game device that allows for interfacing between players when they are asleep. The suggestion is made that he could use it to pull Jounouchi out.But for two years, Kaiba has managed to keep everyone from saying a word to him about Jounouchi Katsuya. Two years since he has argued with Mokuba, forbidding even his little brother the utterance of the name in his presence. Two years since he has moved on from a messy and public break-up.Will this new circumstance pull them back together?





	1. Out of the Night that Covers We

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t need to be starting a new project, but I am. Because this idea was weighing heavy on my mind, I think it will be interesting. 
> 
> Heartsick may be put on hold. This story already has a more tangible plot to it. I even know how many chapters!
> 
> Rating is subject to change.

_**Mutou Yuugi** _ _four (4) missed calls._

 _**Honda Hiroto** _ _one (1) missed call._

 _ **Mazaki Anzu**_ _two (2) missed calls._

 **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ **^~** _ **)Mokuba**_ _ten (10) missed calls_

_Twelve (12) new voicemails._

 

It was too early for all the messages piled up on Kaiba's phone. He hadn't even had coffee yet. All but Mokuba's voicemails were deleted, with the plan of listening to them as soon as he reached the office. But there was a slew of text messages underneath that needed attended to first.

 

> _**Mutou Yuugi - 3:25** _
> 
> _I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, Kaiba-kun. Have you listened to my message? It's about Jou..._

 Delete.

 

> _**Mazaki Anzu - 4:06** _
> 
> _I know it's really early there, but you really should answer your phone. Unless Mokuba's already told you what happened._

Delete.

 

> _**Honda Hiroto - 4:22** _
> 
> _Answer the phone Kaiba! This is serious._

Delete.

Why did he even bother keeping their numbers in his phone? Old time's sake? Well, maybe not Yuugi...he was an employee and they discussed work, usually. But the rest of them? They should have been deleted a long time ago, so no one could accuse him of being nostalgic.

Kaiba entered his darkened office before the sun had even risen, flicked the light on and collapsed behind his desk. He pulled his laptop close and booted it up, determined to ignore his phone. Even as he deleted the messages, more kept coming through to replace them, pinging on his phone until the sound became hollow and meaningless. His hand settled over top of the device, pushed it over to the edge of the desk, and thumbed down on the volume button until it deadened to silence.

And then vibrated. And again. And again. Until it threatened to fall off the edge.

A heavy sigh. Kaiba picked up his phone again, scrolling through a string of stream of consciousness texts that Mokuba had been sending him over the last five minutes. 

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ **^~** _ **)Mokuba - 5m ago**_
> 
> _Why aren't you answering?_
> 
> _Have you at least listened to one of my voicemails?_
> 
> _I know you're not busy._
> 
> _I checked your schedule, there's no early morning meetings so I guess you just left the house early because?...But you really...really need to listen to everyone's voicemails._
> 
> _Or at least mine._
> 
> _I'm sure they're all pretty much saying the same thing, but you really need to hear them. What we all want to tell you shouldn't be said in a text._
> 
> _But you're gonna make me aren't you?_
> 
> _Seto..._
> 
> _Seto...! :\_
> 
> _Answer, please! I really don't want this to be impersonal..._
> 
> _You already knew didn't you? Is that why you're not saying anything?_
> 
> _Did you listen to the voicemails?_
> 
> _Are you okay?_
> 
> _Answer your phone before I have to call the office._
> 
> _I won't stop. Seriously. You know I won't. I can do this forever, I've got nothing but time because I'm not coming in today. I already told Ebi-san._
> 
> _You shouldn't be there either. Work isn't important today._

The screen was never given time to darken before the next text arrived. The phone was squeezed tight between both hands. Never had Kaiba wanted to turn off his phone more than right then, but he wouldn't. Because it was Mokuba. Eventually he would say exactly what he wanted to say, and then Kaiba could give him a more proper response. He seriously doubted that it was more important than work.

Because it involved Jounouchi, if Yuugi's first text was anything to go off of. It couldn't be that important.

A soft knock came to Kaiba's office door. The phone was placed face down. "Enter."

His secretary, Ebi-san, stepped through. He half expected her to say that Mokuba was on the line, or that there were 'important' messages waiting for him from the nerd herd. Yuugi's would have at least been considered important enough to be passed on.

"Good morning, Kaiba-san," she said. She placed a coffee cup, acrid and inviting, on his desk as she did every morning. Finally. Some semblance of normalcy. Kaiba stole it up, inviting the warmth. "Is there anything you need before I go?"

"Have Nakajima set-up for an alpha run of _Invictus_ ," Kaiba said, and he took a sip of the coffee. His phone buzzed. A sigh was squashed in his chest.

" _Invictus_?" Ebi-san arched a brow, mouthing the words in confusion before nodding. "Ahh. Of course. Project _Invictus_. What time?"

"As soon as we can."

"There's an opening around two this afternoon." she said.

 "Good,” Kaiba said, and added: “Make sure Dr. Usami is called in as well. Give him all relevant details of the project."

"Yes, Kaiba-san. I'll make sure they're all notified." Ebi-san said. Kaiba nodded absently and looked down to his phone. He read through the new text messages in quick succession.

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ **^** **〜** _ **)Mokuba - now**_
> 
> _Please, Niisama, it's important..._
> 
> _It's about Jou. He's been in an accident. A bad one._
> 
> _That's as much as I'm telling you. You have to call me back for the rest._
> 
> _I need to talk to you._

Jou. Accident. Bad. Those were the only words that were popping out at him. Jou. Accident. Bad. Enough that his thumb was hovering over the 'reply' button. Jou. Accident. Bad. The cursor was blinking at him, demanding to be used.

Kaiba closed his eyes as his head swam.

"Is everything okay, Kaiba-san?"

His eyes flicked back up to his secretary, brows furrowed. Ebi-san wasn't the emotional sort, it was why he liked her. She didn't waste time on the trivial details, least of all the condition of her employer. "Fine," he answered, brusque. "Just make sure R and D is prepared for a complete test run. Last time they were missing key parts."

"Of course, sir."

Ebi-san bowed her head and left him to his silence, his eyes still skimming over the last few texts until all of the words blurred together into an unreadable mess. His phone dropped onto the desk. His face fell into his palms as he shuddered out a breath.

It had been two years.

Two years since Kaiba had managed to keep everyone from saying a word to him about Jounouchi Katsuya. Two years since he had argued with Mokuba, forbidding his little brother the utterance of the name in his presence. Two years since he had moved on from a messy and public break-up.

He picked up the phone, again, and flicked to Mokuba's contact, staring at the picture Mokuba had chosen for him. A smiling image of the brothers sidled together, Mokuba dressed in a cap and gown, displaying his diploma proudly. Another arm was snaked around Mokuba's shoulder, but the rest of the body had been cropped out. Sometimes Kaiba forgot how Mokuba left little reminders for him.

He tapped the contact to call Mokuba, the phone pressed to his ear.

 _Jou. Accident. Bad_.

Those words had pulled him right back in.

* * *

"Just got ahold of Shizuka," Honda said. He swept back into the waiting room, three Styrofoam cups balanced in hand. One was deposited to Yuugi. Honda dropped into a seat opposite of Yuugi, beside Mokuba. A Styrofoam cup was offered to the younger Kaiba who still stared down at his phone, scrolling through the stream of messages that he had sent Seto. All were tagged with 'read'.

"That's good to hear," Yuugi said. "How long until she's here?"

"Said she should take like two hours," Honda replied.

"You tell her I coulda sent someone to grab her?" Mokuba asked, finally reacting. He took the offered Styrofoam cup, murmuring thanks. "A helicopter could get her here faster."

Honda shrugged. "I did. She was already crying. Prolly wants the time to process."

Mokuba sighed. "Yeah. I guess. What about Anzu?"

"She said she might not make it until tomorrow. She has a show tonight, but she's booked the next flight back," Yuugi replied. Mokuba nodded. "You get ahold of Kaiba-kun yet?"

"He's ignoring me," Mokuba replied.

Honda clapped on Mokuba's shoulder, squeezing it in encouragement. "Don't expect miracles, kid."

Mokuba snorted. Twenty-one years old and everyone still called him 'kid'. Any other time, he would have harassed Honda, and endless joke that persisted in the group despite Mokuba towering over almost all of them. Except for Jounouchi. But for now, he accepted it with a sad smile, wanting to be small again. Because then maybe Seto would take all his texts a little more seriously.

"Maybe I should tell him it's my fault," Mokuba said.

Honda shook his head. "Its not your fault."

"It might as well be," Mokuba shot back. "He was with me!"

Pulling his feet up into the chair, Mokuba buried his face into his knees, biting into the fabric of his jeans.

"Mokuba..." Yuugi's softer voice drew Mokuba's head up, his eyes wavering, dangerous and scared, over the edges of his knees. "It's not your fault, really. Accidents happen."

"Not to me."

"You couldn't have predicted this," Yuugi said.

Mokuba's forehead buried back into his knees, not accepting such a simple reasoning. It didn't feel that simple. Accidents didn't happen to him, or the people that he knew. There was always an ulterior motive. Someone always had a reason to try and hurt him or Seto. Why should Jounouchi have been spared? It wasn't so long ago that he was practically family.

Smaller hands were on his shoulders. Yuugi hovered over him, offering a reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay. Jou's in good hands, right?"

Mokuba nodded. "The best."

"Alright. Then focus on that, okay?"

Another nod, weaker. It didn't change the fact that he still thought it was his fault, but the least he could do for Jou was give him the absolute best care that was available. Money stretched a far way in that regard.

Lifting back up, wiping the flecks of tears in the corners of his eyes, Mokuba let out a breath he'd been holding in for far too long. All they could do now was wait, Mokuba staring at the doors that led into the trauma bay. Where was Jounouchi now, he asked himself. Still in emergency, or headed to surgery? The triage nurse was tight-lipped, no matter how much weight Mokuba tried to throw around. Maybe it was for the best. As much as he wanted to know about how Jounouchi was doing, he was already nauseated at the recollection of what had happened. He could still hear the sickened 'crack' as the car zoomed through the crosswalk without any signs of stopping. He could still see the way that Jounouchi landed, face-down and rag-dolled, nothing but a mess of limbs that curled up as the car screeched, fish-tailing around a corner.

"Mokuba?" His eyes snapped opened. Yuugi was staring at him. "Your phone's ringing."

Looking down at his phone, Mokuba wasn't sure whether to smile or quiver in fear. 'Seto' flashed across the screen, the familiar ringtone looping.

Standing up, Mokuba began to drift towards the exit as he answered. "Nii-sama?"

" _What's going on_?" Seto asked.

"Something happened last night," Mokuba said. "Jou and I were...we were heading out, you know just to do stuff. Meet up with everyone and I...well I just, I took my eyes off of him for a second. We were crossing the street...and he, he..."

" _Mokuba, breathe. Calm down. Tell me what happened._ "

Mokuba sucked a breath in through his nose. Shuddered it out his mouth. "Jou met me at my apartment last night. Me, him, and Honda were all planning on heading out, maybe meet up with Ryou, just have a night. Grab drinks. Something, I don't really remember. I know I called a car just in case, and we were heading over to it. It had parked on the other side of the street, I thought it was weird, but the driver, Tsuneo, was waiting outside for us so...we just went to cross and...there was this car..."

" _Are you alright?_ " Seto interrupted.

"Huh?"

" _Were you hit?"_ Seto asked. Mokuba shook his head. Maybe he hadn't actually read all of the texts. " _Mokuba? Are you hurt?_ "

"No, no. Not me, nii-sama. Jou. The car hit Jou and just took off." Mokuba said it so fast that he wasn't even sure what he said. He paused, waiting for his brother to respond. He could hear Seto breathing, that was a good sign. He hadn't hung up yet. "Seto?"

" _Jounouchi was in a hit and run?_ "

"Yes."

" _But you weren't hurt?_ "

"No. I must've turned around or something. I don't know. One minute he was ahead of me, the next he was on the ground."

" _I see,"_ Seto sighed. " _What's his condition?_ "

"I don't know," Mokuba said. He wasn't sure how many times he had said that now. "The doctors won't tell me anything. I just know he's probably been in surgery for a few hours now."

" _You're staying at the hospital then?"_

Mokuba nodded, then stopped himself. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna stay here. Yuugi's here, so's Honda. Shizuka's on her way..." Mokuba said. Anzu was to, but that would take a while. "Are you going to come by?"

" _I hadn't planned on it_."

"But nii-sama—"

" _I don't have time to be waiting around. There's things that need attended to here, especially since you're going to be absent._ "

Mokuba sighed. "Like what?"

" _The fiscal quarter wrapped up last week, so now we have to focus on the fall quarter, figure out the plan for that. I'm going to have to meet with Iwami in your stead at eleven to go over the details of the subsidy,_ " Mokuba recalled that meeting. He was supposed to head it, not Seto. " _And I'm going to be monitoring the alpha test of_ Invictus _at two._ "

" _Invictus?_ That stupid brain-to-brain VR project? I thought you dumped that."

" _It's been on hiatus, yes, but—"_

"So you're just stalling?" Mokuba accused. "You just don't want to come here. Are you really still that bitter at Jou?"

" _Mokuba, I don't want to start this with you right now_ ," Kaiba said, his voice dipping into a growl. " _My presence there will change nothing._ "

"That's not the point," Mokuba replied. "Jou needs you."

"Needs _me? Don't be ridiculous. What he needs is medical care, which I'm sure you've planned to foot the bill for,_ " Seto said. Acid dripped from his accusation. Mokuba flinched, his fist clenching and shaking at his side.

"He's going to need you."

Seto laughed. " _He didn't need me two years ago, and he doesn't need me now. And you know it._ _I'm happy to know you're alright, but that's all I'm concerned about."_

A dark question entered Mokuba's mind. An ultimatum that he didn't want to ask Seto, but the executive was being stubborn. Mokuba choked back tears. "...what...what if..."

" _No, Mokuba."_

"What if he doesn't make it?" Mokuba asked, summoning all of his courage, the words tearing out of his throat before he had a chance to reconsider them. His hand covered his mouth.

There was a pause, and Mokuba was sure he heard something like Seto clearing his throat. But the pause was noticeable enough for Mokuba to know that his brother was, at the very least, thinking about the question.

" _...this conversation is over. Call me when you get home safely."_

The line died, and Mokuba dropped the phone by his side, trembling. Pushing off the wall, rubbing his sleeve at his cheeks, he trekked back slowly, dragging his feet until he made it back into the stale waiting room. It had grown a little bit darker, he was sure of it. He fell back into the seat by Honda, burying his hands between his knees.

"What did Kaiba-kun say?" Yuugi asked.

"He's happy I'm okay," Mokuba said. His chin lifted off of his chest. "And that's about it."

Honda clicked his tongue against his cheek, and went to say something, though Yuugi was shaking his head to stop the the brunet. Honda's jaw clicked shut, and he side-eyed Mokuba. The grey eyes may have been poised towards Yuugi, but they were wholly absent, reflecting back the bland rows of waiting room chairs, catching a glimpse of the people that would stroll by.

"He'll come around," said Yuugi. "I'm sure he still cares about Jou, he just needs a little time to...process."

Mokuba's head dropped to his chest again.

* * *

The core of the Research and Development team stood behind thick paned glass, staring into the rounded, sterile chamber. Inside was a simple set up: two chairs, reclined and sat back to back to one another. Wires sprouted from the base of each chair, leading several feet away to the left and feeding into a long panel of computers manned by two of the senior most technicians. On the right side were two tables, different machines being set up in careful order by a man who had 'Usami Daigo, M.D.' hanging off of his badge.

The door slid open, and the technicians looked up, bowing as Kaiba entered, Isono in short step beside. They moved aside as Kaiba strode up to them. "I'm assuming you have the headset, Kaiba-sama?" The technician, Nakajima, asked.

"Of course," Kaiba replied. He used a nearby chair to set his briefcase on, opening it up to reveal the piece before slipping it onto his ear. "It should be close enough to calibrate."

Nakajima turned away and started typing away as Kaiba pressed a button on the headpiece, catching the side of it glow lightly in his peripheral. "Syncing is complete. Seems to be stable."

"For now," Kaiba replied. Terse laughter came from the other technician.

"What sparked interest in _Invictus_ again, if I may ask?" Nakajima said.

A laptop also came out of the briefcase, and it was balanced on the edge of the computer panel. The technicians edged out of the way as Kaiba took his place, connecting the laptop to a port in the computer panel. "I've been working on new code. The only problem we were having last time was the neural mapping."

"Understandably. Keeping the computer moving as fast as a human brain, second for second...I mean, it can think that fast, but not necessarily in real time like you and Mokuba imagined."

Kaiba backed away as the program began to load into the rest of the network. "It needs to tap into the subconscious." Kaiba said.

"I'm sorry?" Nakajima asked.

"It needs to have a full map of the brain, and if it wants to keep up the relay or another player, it needs to tap into the subconscious. Think before we think."

Nakajima furrowed his brows and shot a glance over to the doctor who was still fiddling about, turning dials on several of the machines. "Do you mean memories, Kaiba-sama?"

"Something like that," Kaiba said. He rounded over to the chair and sat into it, pulling his legs up and crossing his ankles. The top buttons of his dress shirt were undone as the doctor placed several stickers on him.

"I don't think that's possible," the technician replied.

"I've already had an AI capable of simulating entire rooms and constructing people specifically from my memories," Kaiba replied. "Finding a way to create a bridge to the subconscious, to find a way to explore, and learn, and enjoy a dream or someone else's more lucidly, shouldn't be much more difficult."

"But that is just _your_ mind, sir. You worked on that for months...and it was much less sensitive with cards! They can be loaded into a databank, memories aren't necessarily required. Much less the subconscious!"

"Mind your tongue, Nakajima-san," Isono interjected.

Rolling his head over to the doctor, seeing where his heart rate was showing on the screen, Kaiba nodded, satisfied. Nakajima realised that his employer was hardly listening to his arguments anyways, even if he was being reprimanded by the faithful suit.

"Start running the program, Nakajima. I've already constructed a simulated mind to relay mine against," Kaiba ordered. The man grumbled, and Kaiba was sure he heard something akin to 'all of this for a video game'...

A needle pricked into Kaiba's arm, his fist clenching in reflex. A bead of blood was wiped away.

"You'll be in conscious sedation," Usami said. "We'll be able to wake you if the test becomes dangerous."

Though the words were heard and processed, Kaiba could already feel his eyes drooping, his breathing evening out but lessening. His body relaxed into the chair, head lulling back. A single sticker was placed under his bangs, against his temple, though he didn't even flinch to the touch. His eyes closed.

" _...vitals stable...brain waves are regular...REM sleep..._ "

It was a distinct floating feeling, Kaiba's body washed in a soft wave of water, lapping up over his calves, up his thighs. His eyes opened up, and the distance was a blurry horizon line. The ocean went on as far as the eyes could see. As he turned to look around, the edges were frayed, rounded, unfinished.

"Incomplete..."Kaiba said to himself. But he could feel his trousers sticking against his calves, a very distinct and uncomfortable sensation. Sand itched against his back. He reached back, patting it away. "That's right...Mokuba uploaded a beach memory."

"Niisama!"

Across the way, far against the less detailed background, Mokuba, no older than thirteen and dressed in his swim trunks, waved at him. He was knelt beside a sand castle, returning to molding it in his hands. But he wasn't alone.

Jounouchi sat across from him, a colorful beach towel draped over top of his head, a green pail stuck between his folded legs, patting away and packing sand against the edges. His head lifted up, and he waved, the shovel still in his hand. The bucket was overturned, set beside Mokuba's monstrous castle, and lifted up with precise ease. The new addition to the castle didn't crumble.

Kaiba walked towards the memory with hesitation, but each step became heavier. His feet were sinking into the sand until he was ankle deep, legs unable to pull upwards no matter how much force he drove into his knees.

" _...heart rate is up..."_

Whipping back, Kaiba's eyes widened to the darkened road behind him. It wasn't the beach anymore. No. He recognised this tight road in Domino. He'd driven down it too many times not to know. It was the road that lead by Mokuba's apartment.

The images were much clearer, much sharper. Each outline of the skyscrapers in the background. The glisten of KaibaCorp Tower in the distance. He turned back around, hoping to be met with the pleasant scene of Mokuba still playing in the sand.

No. Everything had morphed away. The rest of the street stretched before him, dipping into the horizon. Cars drove by, their lights blaring, their tires splashing up puddles. "Mokuba?" Kaiba called out. It stood to reason that Mokuba would be lingering around his apartment.

Approaching the building, Kaiba wondered if his mind would be able to take him all the to the top floor, to where his little brother lived. He wondered how much of the building he remembered in detail. He had to admit, compared to the beach scene, this vision was much more exciting. This was exactly what he was imagining when he had first formulated this project.

Sliding his hand against the cool plastic chassis of a car parked on along the street, he approached the building with confidence, continually looking around to see just how crisp everything was. The rhythmic clicking of the crosswalk signal as it counted down, The fresh bread he could smell wafting from on the bakery a block up. The balmy wetness of the air after a fresh rain.

"Seto!" Kaiba's ears perked up to the sound of his name. His eyes widened to the sight of the blond across the street from him, standing on the corner and staring at the crosswalk signal. It flipped from 'stop' to 'go'.

"Katsuya," he whispered. Jounouchi seemed in a hurry run across the street, laughter trailing behind him. Becoming louder. Much louder than it should have. The sounds began to crescendo, loud and distorted. He was sure that he could hear things that has no place in this place. The sound of glass shattering broke through the cacophony.

Kaiba's hands covered his ears and his head shook. Jounouchi was still running towards him, arms open. A large shard of glass, covered in stars, reflecting the crescent of the moon, came crashing down in front of the blond. Kaiba's eyes snapped closed, and he sucked in a deep breath, trying to refocus on some other memory. Some other time. Some other place.

When he opened them again, the space was blank, the darkness never-ending. A single spotlight just a few paces ahead of him. Shards of the sky were scattered all over the floor, glass crunching as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Tentatively he walked forward. Something was laying in the centre of the light.

"... _brain waves...erratic. Heart...spiking._.. _Kaiba-sama...!"_

Jounouchi laid on his back in the center of the light, his head turned away, arms rested on his stomach. One of his legs was turned in the wrong direction. As Kaiba reached the edge of the light, he could see blood pooling, expanding towards him. He took a step back to avoid it, snapping his gaze back up Jounouchi. His head had turned to Kaiba, showing off bruising cheeks and blood dripping from his nose. He sported a crooked smile.

"Katsuya?"

"Seto..." Jounouchi moaned.

"No." Kaiba shook his head and took another step back. The blood pool seemed to follow him. "No."

"I need you,..."

Kaiba's eyes squeezed closed. This dream could be changed. He just needed to focus. Focus on something else. Focus on work! His office! All he needed was to think about his desk, all the details of it. The papers. The calendar. The laptop.

"Kaiba-sama!"

Kaiba's eyes snapped open, his breath quickened against a heavy chest. Sweat trickled down his temple. He tried to move and push himself up, but was pushed back a heavy pair of hands. He writhed beneath them. A light was flashed in his eyes and he blinked several times.

"Sir...? Are you alright?"

The room was bright, rounded. Usami and Nakajima leaned over him, their faces soured but concerned. Kaiba jolted upright, his head spinning. The headset was thrown off and landed between his knees.

"Why did you pull me out!" Kaiba demanded, his voice slurring.

"Your vitals were erratic, sir, we had no choice."

"Unacceptable! Recalibrate it, we'll run it again." Kaiba lifted up off the chair, pulling the stickers of the heart monitor with it. His feet hit the ground, but his knees didn't lift, pulling his down almost the same as his feet sinking into the sand.

Isono caught him, pulling him upright and leading him to back down. "Careful, Seto-sama. You’re still groggy.” 

"Where's my phone?" Kaiba asked. As he closed his eyes, the image of Jounouchi's bloodied face, crooked smile, flashed before him. "Isono?”

"I have it."

Kaiba clutched it between his hands, flicking to the wall of text Mokuba had sent him hours before. His stomach turned as he began to type.

* * *

Four hours, five hours, six hours. No news. Mokuba's insistent while asking the nurses for any kind of details hadn't rubbed them the right way. He was far too abrasive, and growing worse. They'd stopped answering him altogether.

Pacing around the waiting room, tossing his phone between his hands, Mokuba glanced to Shizuka, leaned up against Honda's shoulder while he consoled her. Yuugi had left, grabbing lunch for everyone even though everyone had said they weren't hungry. They needed to eat something.

Mokuba came to a sudden stop, his phone vibrating against his hand. He turned it over.

His eyes widened to a text. 

 

> _**Seto** _ **(¬_¬) - _now_**
> 
> _Send me status updates._

For the first time in hours, Mokuba smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully an interesting and not too confusing start? I have no idea whether or not to label this scifi or not. It feels like a sci-fi thing, I’m some weird way. I’m going to attempt regular, weekly updates.
> 
> Tell me what you think XD reviews are always encouraging.


	2. Black as a Pit from Pole to Pole

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)**_ _ **Mokuba -**_ _**17:27**_
> 
> _Jou's out of surgery._

The text message had been read on the lock screen of Kaiba's phone, but he hadn't interacted with it. There was nothing to reply to, not in his mind. It was just enough information for him to know that, currently, Jounouchi was not dead.

His focus was more oriented towards _Invictus_ , and the failure the rest of the day had become. Once the technicians had pulled him out of the test the first time, his mind was unable to reach a state that the device would activate again, regardless of how drained his body felt.

It wasn't his body that mattered, he had to realise. It was his mind, restless and curious about the prior test, about where the simulation had bled into his own dreams, where it became less of a tangible experience and more of a display of errant symbolism. Symbolism that had gotten to him and, worse yet, symbolism that he had reacted to.

Two hours were wasted in the lab, pouring over what may have caused the vividness, enough that Kaiba's body had reacted to it physically, as it had during the many prior tests. "When it comes to matters of the brain, not all functions are understood, Kaiba-san, least of all dreams and sleep," Usami explained, uninitiated and receiving a blank look from Kaiba in response. "From my data, you were having a nightmare. But, given the severity of your reaction, it was bordering on a night terror."

"Night terror." Kaiba repeated. A statement, not a question.

"Yes. Essentially its just a heightened nightmare, but it does seem more real to those that are experiencing them."

"I know what a night terror is," Kaiba replied. The headset and laptop was packed away. Data readouts were printed to be poured over later. "Your services are no longer needed today."

"One more bit of advice, Kaiba-san," Usami said, going to stand as Kaiba began towards the door. "Philosophy textbooks may aid you in this venture more than medical ones."

The advice hadn't been replied to, but it hung in his head, and when he returned back to his office, he wasted little time setting up his laptop and bookmarking a list of the philosophies of dreams, as well as the psychological. Once paperwork was finished for the day, the theories were skimmed through. They said that dreams were the true world; that they were an 'ignored, rejected self'; that they were a place that lessons could be learned.

They were pushed away in lieu of something more lucrative. Kaiba turned his attention to the code instead, thinking that it was a mistake in the lines. It must have been; perhaps the parameters hadn't been set correctly and it was causing overstimulation. A missed semi-colon, an unclear 'if'. In the end, Kaiba was trying to make _Invictus_ read a mind and make a controller out of it—maybe it wasn't sensitive enough. It didn't know when he was wanting to take control.

So many possibilities, all of which needed to be tested. Several different variants of the code were going to need to be rewritten. When it went through testing again, he would make himself do it consecutively. His body wouldn't be so easily overburdened again. 

Hours ticked by. Kaiba registered that Ebi-san had left, two knocks on his door to denote so. He hadn't moved from his seat anymore than to stretch his back when it became stiff. It was easy to lose time. Code; consult his scribbled notes and detailed drawings about brain functionality; delete everything, reheat the untouched coffee; code again.

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba 20:42**_
> 
> _Critical condition_
> 
> _stable_
> 
> _no visitation._

Three hours was a long time to hear nothing, Kaiba thought. Given his initial response, thinking back to Jounouchi's body laying before him, bleeding and pleading, he had figured Mokuba would give him a constant play by play over the course of the day. Two messages...maybe he would have sent more if Kaiba replied.

There was still no reason to reply.

* * *

 

No matter how many times Mokuba had been in the KaibaCorp. Towe after hours, the eerie emptiness it left behind was never familiar. The front lobby was devoid of the usual rush of employees and visitors. The desk, usually manned by a pair of smiling ladies, was empty, their computers blinking with the KC logo bouncing around corner to corner. A janitor was buffing the floor, so at least it wasn't quiet.

The security officer that sat for the night shift nodded to him, but they never met eyes. A magazine had his rapt attention.

Mokuba took the elevator up, sliding his access badge in order to get straight to Seto's office. The ride was just long enough that his back rested against the wall and his eyes started to close, sleep ready to overcome him, before the carriage shuttered to a stop and he instinctively walked out and towards Seto's door, able to hear machine-gun typing before pushing it open.

Seto hunched against his desk, his face paled with a light green glow from the computer screen.

"Still not reading my texts?" Mokuba asked.

"I've read them," Seto said.

"My phone still says 'sent'," Mokuba replied, and he pulled up a chair on the other side of the desk. "You were the one asking for updates."

"I've read them," Seto repeated. "Out of surgery, stable but critical. Sounds as if it's going about as well as can be expected."

"I guess," Mokuba shrugged. "They kicked us out. Only Shizuka-chan was allowed to stay for tonight. Family an' all that."

"Mm."

Mokuba leaned his cheek into his hand. "What are you still doing here? It's like...midnight."

"Going over _Invictus'_ failure today," Seto replied. "It went about the same as the last time I tried it. Though it's pairing with the second mind this time."

Mokuba couldn't say he was really interested in the project. It had been abandoned over a year and a half ago after repeated failures, when Seto decided that it was best to focus his efforts elsewhere. "Whose mind were you using?"

"Yours," Seto replied. Mokuba softened. "The beach memory came up."

"That one's my favourite," Mokuba said. "Especially when Jounouchi ends up with the fish in his shorts, after the big wave?" He snorted a little bit, thinking to the blond jumping around to try and get it out. Mokuba wasn't sure if he was allowed to mention Jounouchi's name if it didn't involve the accident. Seto didn't seem to flinch, but his typing had stopped.

"I didn't get that far," Seto said. He reached out for the coffee mug, staring at the amber ring in the bottom. "That's where it started glitching."

"What happened?"

Seto looked up from beneath his lashes, his jaw ticking to the side. The coffee mug was sat down, and he leaned further forward, knitting his fingers together. "My mind took over. Took me to the street around your apartment, and..." Seto shrugged. "It just went strange. The sounds became too loud. The sky shattered..." he paused, making sure his eyes met with Mokuba's. "I saw Jounouchi laying on the ground. Bleeding."

Mokuba leaned away from the desk, head bowed. "Maybe you were thinking about what happened today?"

"I don't know."

"It's okay, you know, to be upset," Mokuba said. Seto pushed his chair out, the laptop closed and unplugged. "You can talk to me if you're upset."

"I am not upset."

"You can't lie to me, nii-sama," Mokuba said. "You were with him for six years. That doesn't just go away."

"I beg to differ," Seto said.

Mokuba huffed. "If you want to go see him, you should."

"I don't want to go see him," Seto replied. "You'll tell me everything that's going on, he'll get better, and then we'll all move on with our lives."

Mokuba didn't even know if it was going to happen that way. There was no guarantees yet, with no information to go off of, other than the fact that Jounouchi was still hanging on. That could have changed overnight at this rate, Mokuba knew. He had asked Shizuka to keep them all updated, though he wasn't sure if she was coping any better than he was.

"I think it was my fault," Mokuba said.

Seto’s briefcase was locked down, and his hands flattened against the surface. "How do you mean?"

"I think they were after me," Mokuba said, and a shiver went through his body. "It's my fault Jou's like this, nii-sama. They were going for me, and I turned around and...and Jou was there instead..."

Seto rounded the desk quickly and pressed Mokuba into a tight embrace, rubbing his back, slow and calm. A hiccuped breath rippled through the younger brother. He'd felt small all day, just a child curling up into a plastic chair, having tantrums to find out information, when he should have been holding his head, being an adult. But in a Seto's grip, it felt right. Even if his face was able to reach Seto's shoulder instead of press into his hip.

"It alright, Moki," Seto whispered. "You're okay. And Katsuya will be fine, too."

Mokuba glanced up when he heard the use of the blond's first name. Seto's glassy eyes as they twitched, thinning and staring out over the skyline, wondering if Seto was just trying to console him or if he actually meant it.

"I hope so," Mokuba said. "I...talked to the police about it a bit. They're gonna look into it."

"They'd better," Seto said. Mokuba pushed himself away from the embrace, rubbing at the corners of his eyes, knowing the entire space was reddened and raw from his on and off feelings unable to be contained. "I'll speak with them if they don't take it seriously."

Mokuba piqued up. Was Seto...worried? "You will?"

"Of course," Seto said. "No one tries to hurt you and gets away with it."

Mokuba deflated. It wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, but he supposed it was better than nothing at all.

That said, as he began to walk out of the building with Seto, he could say that there was something a little different. There was something about Seto that he couldn't place, and when he looked up to at his brother, Mokuba noted how he looked a little lost. It may have been just Seto thinking, judging by the way that his eyes were flicking back and forth, thinning and widening. Mokuba knew he was debating with himself, arguing with some voice in the back of his head.

The kind of look, hungry and confused, that Seto would get long ago, when Jounouchi said something to him that just didn't compute.

Mokuba leaned against Seto's shoulder. He could safely say that, yes, Seto was worried about Jounouchi.

* * *

 

In the middle of the next day, just as a meeting was about to wrap up, Kaiba received another set of texts, though, this time, he paid a little more attention to them.  

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - 10m ago**_
> 
> _Got to see Jou._
> 
> _You want me to start with the good or the bad?_
> 
> _Because it all kinda sucks but...I don't know what you might think is important or not._

Kaiba contemplated the question. He didn't really need all the intimate details on Jounouchi's condition, but his curiosity got the better of him. Mokuba was going to give him everything, or so he suspected, judging by his phrasing.

He wasn't sure if knowing would hurt more or less than not.

 

> _**_**Seto** _ **(¬_¬)** ** _
> 
> _Wherever makes the most sense to start._

 Mokuba wasted no time sending a quick succession of texts.

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba -now**_
> 
> _Leg's busted up pretty bad._
> 
> _Couple of broken ribs, punctured lung._
> 
> _He's not breathing on his own right now. Broken collar bone. Something to do with the eye socket and cheek? His face is a mess._ _But..._
> 
> _He's got a skull fracture, too. They had to relieve some swelling this morning..._

Swelling. And Kaiba wondered if there was some kind of bleeding going on and Mokuba was just being kind to him by not saying. Then why tell him everything else? 

 

> _**_**Seto** _ **(¬_¬)** ** _
> 
> _You're allowed to visit him now?_

Even though the curiosity was still plaguing him, Kaiba didn't want to know anymore details. The image of Jounouchi, his sun-kissed skin marred with a rainbow of bruises, attached to all manner of devices while propped in a stark white bed, surrounded by family and friends who would all speak as if at a wake, was enough for him. Mokuba was just making the picture more vivid.

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - now**_
> 
> _For a little bit._ _And one at time._
> 
> _They don't want us around too long. We might overstimulate him, they say._
> 
> _Whatever that means._
> 
> _He's not awake...I don't think he hears us._  

That was one of those debates Kaiba had no particular say in. He'd been in the room when Mokuba and Jounouchi used to binge through dramas that they swore they had no interest in, and plenty of them had the same old trope: a girl in a coma, waited on by her lover, reacting just enough to make everyone convinced that their words were making it through somehow. Such a cliche. If that was how everything worked, they would just be able to talk people out of comas and they wouldn't be as serious as everyone thought they were.

But it was something to speak about with Usami, he considered. 

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - now**_
> 
> _Call me if you're upset Seto._
> 
> _Seriously._

Making a brief trip back to his office, sweeping up all the things he would need, Kaiba began back down to the R and D labs for another scheduled alpha test, this time with the new parameters in place.

Everything was set up, the headset slipped on, his chest clustered with stickers, smaller ones planted against his temple, the needle pricked against his skin.

"... _REM sleep triggered..."_

But the simulation didn't come. It was a mess of corrupted data, or so the long walls of black covered in green text suggested. His mind was static that was trying to make the image real but finding nothing more than moving shadows.

Still, Kaiba felt present there, perhaps in a dream that lacked a simulated memory from Mokuba. It skipped the relay all together.

His feet didn’t quite touch the ground, even when he walked towards the static.

Two figures were in the static, standing just meters from one another. One was making large, swooped arcs with their arms, pointing outwards at the long scrawls of green text. As if that was what he was talking about. The other stood still, stance a little wide. Defensive.

He? Was it a he?

Kaiba glided closer, the snow of the static widening into streamed rivulets, like rain washing over the pair.

Kaiba opened his hands and tried to force the curtain of static to move out of the way, to give him a better view. As he gazed around, the only thing that seemed to change was the ability to augment the static and make the screen full of green text disappear. Another swipe of the hand in front of it, trying to force it away. He sighed, and focused again on the image playing in front of him.

The first shadow glided over to the second, hands on shoulders and shaking it. The hands were thrown away. Kaiba pressed himself forward, pushing his hand through the static, wondering if he could simply step through it. It felt like cold and wet, powdery, more like snow even if it looked like rain. Both hands were held out to the static, the flakes settling in his hands, sticking to his fingers before melting against the heat of his skin.

A flash made him look up. Another flash, somewhere in the peripheral.

The second shadow had come over to the first, and he saw a hand raise and strike against the head, the cheek, of the first shadow. The 'he'. The first shadow launched forward, only to be stopped by a third shadow that came out from the vastness of the static, pressing between the pair, arms widening to spread the pair apart.

Kaiba pressed his hand deeper into the static, trying to push his body through, but it was frigid. His joints immediately felt pained, his skin turning papery and numb. He was barely up to the shoulder before he had to back out. And as he did, something else emerged from the static.

A small object clinked out, jumping twice before landing at the toe of his shoe. Reaching down, he plucked the small ring up. A silver band with four prongs, bent, the inset missing. When he looked back up, the shadows were gone. It was just static.

" _...entering NREM sleep...ahh, waking..."_

Opening his eyes, Kaiba was much more conscious of the world around him. The ceiling lights were much brighter than his dream had been. The cold of the snow lingered on his body, up to his shoulder, and as he brought his hand up, his fingers were pinched like he held the ring, even though it wasn't there.

"You woke on your own, Kaiba-sama," Nakajima said. "Did it go well?"

"There's no audio now," he replied. Isono stepped over to him, helping him sit up. "The controls still don't work. I can't manipulate anything. Load the next set of codes we'll test that next."

"Yessir."

Lulling his head to his left, eyeing where Usami sat calmly adjusting a machine, Kaiba asked: "I can hear you as I drift off," he said. "And I heard you in the midst before."

"You are under light sedation. You can hear us because you're not truly asleep."

"I see," Kaiba said. "I wonder if I could hear you if I were fully unconscious."

"Perhaps," Usami said. "It depends on the person."

"Do comatose people dream?" Kaiba asked. Isono handed him a water bottle, and he muttered thanks.

"Depends on how high their brain function is. Some people think so, but there's nothing conclusive," Usami said. He eyed Kaiba with a questioning gaze, as if a little scared by the question. "You aren't thinking of making yourself comatose for this project, are you Kaiba-san?"

The thought was entertained for a few seconds.

Kaiba's head lulled away. "No."

* * *

Kaiba didn’t leave the office until somewhere after nine. Time had to be made up for when he was testing _Invictus_ , feeling as if he had wasted it by napping in the middle of day, playing around in dreams. Well, one dream. The second hadn't even managed to manufacture anything other than him staring at the back of his eye lids, occasionally drifting off, before waking up to be disappointed.

The code would be tweaked some more.

Mokuba's last text message, to which he simply replied 'I'll call you regardless of my emotions', still weighed on him.

Kaiba couldn't say he was upset. Even when he reread the list of issues that laid ahead of Jounouchi, he felt little more than indigested, and that wasn't strictly a feeling so much as it was a reaction. Mokuba would argue that a reaction was a feeling. If he had been indifferent, he wouldn't have reacted to the the list of injuries, and would have been more clinical about it all.

Going through the back and forth of the kind of petty banter he would have with imaginary Mokuba over the semantics of his feelings was interrupted by the actual Mokuba calling him. He answered it through his car's dashboard touchscreen.

"What's up, kiddo?"

" _You leave the office yet?"_ Mokuba asked.

"On the road now," he replied. "Why, were you heading over?"

" _No. I just wanted to ask if maybe you'd want to grab a late dinner. I'm guessing you haven't ate yet."_

Kaiba smiled to himself. "Not unless you've begun to count coffee as a food."

" _In your dreams,"_ Mokuba snorted. " _There's that noodle place near me that I like a lot. It's usually open pretty late. That sound okay?_ "

The noodle place that Kaiba was sure he knew Mokuba's exact order to, because it was the same place that Mokuba always went when he was upset, whether it be over something at school, a bad break-up, something innocuous at work, or, when worst came to worst, the aftermath of one of the kidnap attempts when he was younger.

Already changing lanes with the destination in mind, Kaiba agreed. He met Mokuba at the small shop, seeing where he was already inside and at a back corner both, talking to the waitress.

They spoke of nothing important. Even though Mokuba had spent the last thirty six hours convincing Kaiba to open up about his feelings and, in the midst, Kaiba must have asked Mokuba plenty of times if he was alright, to a positive answer, it was only now that Mokuba seemed to want to vent otherwise about the whole ordeal. Kaiba asked no questions, just listened to Mokuba while he slurped through a large bowl that was double noodle, double egg, and eaten almost twice as fast as usual.

Once Mokuba finished, both with his sadness and his food, the topics trickled elsewhere, none of which involved Jounouchi, even though Kaiba kept expecting a waterfall of memories to come pouring out of Mokuba. Kaiba was aware of the close proximity to the hospital, and was waiting somewhere along the line for Mokuba to suggest that he go, but it never came. It was just talk, mindless chit-chat that they had while watching people pass by outside.

They must have sat for the better part of an hour and a half, and bowls had long since been swept away, before Kaiba asked: "What did you do with the things that Jounouchi never picked up from the house?"

Mokuba's eyes had wandered out the window, cheek leaning in his hand, his face washed with blue and red light from the 'Open' sign that they sat behind. "He was 'Katsuya' yesterday."

"A slip of the tongue."

"Mm-hm," Mokuba didn't press it. "He didn't want them back, so I didn't force him to take anything. But I kept them, just in case he changed his mind."

"He still hasn't?"

"Nope," Mokuba sighed. "Why you ask?"

Kaiba thought back to the feeling of holding the ring in his hand, and slid his fingers together. "Then you still have that ring, don't you?"

Mokuba's eyes widened, hand slipping from his face. "Why...?"

"All this just had me thinking on it, that's all," Kaiba said. The stare that Mokuba gave him in response was disbelieving, his lips pursing. He leaned back in the booth. "Really, Mokuba, that's as much as there is to it."

"Yeah, I...have a hard time believing that, nii-sama," Mokuba said, and he began to smile, buttoning it down when Kaiba lowered his head, disapproving of Mokuba's interpretation. "Do you want—?"

"No," Kaiba replied.

A light snicker from Mokuba. "Whatever," he began to slip out of the booth. "I'm gonna head home. I'll...probably be in to work tomorrow, okay?"

Kaiba nodded. "I'll let Ebi-san know."

He stood with his little brother, and they walked out together, with Mokuba touching Kaiba's shoulder as he began to gravitate towards his own car. The elder brother looked back, expecting more words, the final push for him to go and visit Jounouchi, but it still didn't come. Mokuba smiled.

Kaiba smiled back, weary, nodding. "Go home, Moki."

"I will."

"Get some sleep," Kaiba ordered.

Mokuba shrugged. "Maybe. Only if you do."

"Not likely."

Another shrug. "I'll see ya in the morning, nii-sama." Mokuba said, and he raised a hand as he turned away, fishing out his keys soon after.

The laughter in his chest didn't feel like it belonged, and Kaiba tried to force it back down as he slipped into his own car, getting back on the road. The manor wasn't far from here, he would go home and try to get a few hours of sleep, not that it particularly mattered to him after that day's testing. But he found himself pulled in the opposite direction, turning around on a side street and heading towards the hospital, coming up on it sooner than he realised.

The entire time that he sat with Mokuba, he expected his little brother to offer for him to go and sit with Jounouchi. Had Mokuba offered, he had planned to decline. Mokuba was already heartbroken and, though he hadn't said anything, looked like hell. The kid needed sleep more than anything else, perhaps to clear his mind like the venting had.

Now that he was alone? Kaiba couldn't say what the pull was, but he was in the parking lot when he argued to himself that he wasn't going to go inside. And he was at the desk, asking the triage nurse about Jounouchi when he told himself that he wasn't going to walk up to the ICU, on the fourth floor.

"Jounouchi-san can only have one visitor at a time," she told him as he went to the elevator. This time of night, he imagined, there would only be one person there. Maybe two.

Once up there, staring down the long and empty halls, Kaiba slowed his gait, passing by many doors and hearing ominous noises. Light beeping, the hissing of tubes that were doing more work than a body. Heavy coughing came from one room as the door was on its way to be closed.

As Kaiba approached the room, he knew he had the right place. A mousy-haired, older woman sat outside of it, a book in her hands, tissues balled in her lap. If she was outside, someone else was in. "Kawai-san," He said, addressing Jounouchi's mother.

The woman looked up. "Kaiba-san," She said, a little cold. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to see your son," Kaiba said. "I take it his sister is with him?"

Kawai-san shook her head, closing her book. "She went home with Anzu. The nurses are doing something," she mentioned. "It's been a while, they should be out soon. But I don't want you in there with him."

"I don't particularly care what you want."

The woman scowled, the book cracked back open. "You're just going to make him sad. That's all your good at."

The door opened up, a nurse walking out and bowing politely, holding the door open. "Ten minutes," she said.

A passing glare was given to Kawai-san as Kaiba entered the room, the door closed behind him. The place was dim for the night, even though the occupant was unaware of the day and night cycle. It was private room with enough space that, when it was allowed, all of Jounouchi's friends could have sat around him. For the time being, there was only a single, unoccupied chair. A small, pink purse left beside it. Shizuka's, he imagined.

The room was filled with the same hissing and beeping sounds Kaiba had heard on his way in, though much louder and harder to tune out. At first, he didn't look at Jounouchi, but instead at the machines that surrounded him. Some of the same that he had been hooked up to not much earlier, though these seemed to be double the size and number. He traced a tube down Jounouchi's left hand, set level with his shoulder. His nails were still uneven messes, where he choose instead to bite them rather than learn to use a nail file.

There were a few bruises. Some scrapes from hitting the road. His skin was still very much tanned, probably from still spending too long in the sun doing whatever oddjobs he felt like picking up when the tournament season was slow.

A second was spared to look at Jounouchi's face, darting away just as fast. Not yet. Instead, he went down, tracing the different wires that curled against the hard collar around his neck and disappeared into the neckline of the gown. Further down still, there was little to see under the blanket, except for where it was moved aside for his leg, propped up on pillows and covered in thick bandages that went above the knee and underneath the end of the gown.

A heavy breath was sucked in, and Kaiba took a step closer to lean against the railing on the bed. Finally, he looked up at Jounouchi's face. He was still distinguishable, though barely, through the swelling and blackened bruising, the myriad of little cuts that were sealed closed with butterfly bandages, though one of them ran thick over his nose. It was the spot over his ear, where a square of gauze sat heavily over a space where his hair had been shaved, that had Kaiba's stomach turn into a maelstrom.

He collapsed backwards into the chair, landing on the edge of it and gripping the arms tight. His lips twitched, begging to say something, but shaking his head. Jounouchi wouldn't hear him.

The chair was scooted a little closer. Kaiba leaned forward against the railing, arms over and the tips of his fingers touching against Jounouchi's wrist, slipping beneath the bracelet. He didn't want to touch the blond any further, though he knew that he wouldn’t break.

Curling his arm up and away, Kaiba buried his face in the crook of his elbow, wiping away warm tears and concealing the sob that began stealing the air from his lungs. His hand grabbed at the hairs on the back of his head, trying to stop himself.

"Katsuya...goddamn you..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm...maybe details of the break up happened? 
> 
> Also, if it’s Mokuba receiving a text from Seto is when his little emoji face name will pop up, same as Mokuba’s does. Otherwise ‘You’ makes sense to me? Kinda?
> 
> I can’t believe I stuck to an update schedule! I will try really hard for that one! I promise!
> 
> Update next Tuesday? : D


	3. We Thank Whatever Gods May Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed my mind. All texts will have names. Just to make it easier. Plus I like the emoticons. 
> 
> Shameless posting a pic I doodled of how I think Mokuba looks grown up:
> 
> [Shameless Doodle](https://www.deviantart.com/lafeae/art/Mokuba-Kaiba-All-Grown-Up-753984899)

Kaiba was out of the room long before the nurse needed to tell him anything. He whipped by her, and Kawai-san, catching the mother's critical eye, and her sudden rise from the chair, as he took long strides down the hall. If she was following him, he heard nothing but the sound of his own shoes clacking against the tile.

Turning the corner to the elevator, Kaiba found his legs numb, stalled in place, as he leaned his shoulder against the wall to keep upright. He couldn't precisely say what it was that he was feeling at that moment. Everything was very out of body, his mind wasn't in the hallway, yet still his body propelled forward. He pushed off the wall and steered towards the elevator, jamming the call button.

Kaiba knew that his legs had outran his mind, leaving part of him still sitting in that dim hospital room. As he stepped onto the elevator, he could still hear the gentle whooshing of air, the metronome bleating of a heart that was still going. Was that supposed to make him hopeful? A body was lifeless, useless, without its mind to wake it, control it, and make its decisions. Jounouchi was just a...a pile of bones and muscle and skin! He may as well have been held together with paper clips and twine, for all the technology was worth.

The doors closed, and Kaiba situated himself to face where they would open again, his lips parting at the distorted reflection of himself in the shined silver doors, smeared with fresh handprints. His own, perhaps, as he forced himself inside.

This, too, was just a pale, disheveled, lifeless body that stood before him, Kaiba thought. There was no mind in it—that was back in the room with Jounouchi, appraising every last gash, every last bruise.

" _I need you,..._ "

"No," Kaiba said aloud. His hand slipped into pocket, producing his phone. Mokuba had said to call him if he was upset. "No, m-mutt, you don't need me..." Mokuba's contact was pulled up, and his finger scrolled along the picture, following the arm to the body that he knew Mokuba had cropped out. His thumb kept slipping against the glass to see to the rest of picture. It bobbed against a blackened edge, popping back into place.

Looking up, back to his pallor and questioning eyes, Kaiba shook his head. He was better than this. Jounouchi was nothing but a stain in the past, and that was all there was to it. These events were tragic, but ultimately, nothing changed.

His mind finally caught up with him, bleeding him into the present moment. The doors opened up in front of him. His mind had a tendency to wander to far-fetched, grandiose ideas, but it always had to return back to the present, to his focused blankness. An anchor to reel in the fanciful and far-fetched.

Kaiba's eyes widened.

That was it!

Kaiba found his mind suddenly flooded with a plethora of questions, theories, and hypotheses, all that regarded _Invictu_ s. How he could make the mind into controller, and from there, where the player could decide where it was going and the program remain stable in the process. All of which was going to need to be reprogramming, and it couldn't wait.

Kaiba couldn't look back; he couldn't let his mind wander. There was plenty of work to do, and none of it involved thinking about Jounouchi.

Clicking the phone screen to black, squaring his shoulders and straightening his back, Kaiba stepped out of the elevator and headed for the exit. One foot in front of the other. Again and again. Heel to toe.

* * *

 

"Good morning, Ebi-chan!" Mokuba said, smile plastered on his face. He was almost bursting off of the elevator onto the floor of the executive suites.

"Good morning, Mokuba-kun. Welcome back," the secretary greeted. A cardboard coffee carrier was placed on her desk, and one of the three cups slid to her. "Oh, thank you! Aren't you a darling?" Though as she looked down at the cup, her fingers turning it slow, she asked: "What do you want...?"

"Nothing, nothing," Mokuba laughed and shrugged. "Seto in the middle of anything?"

Ebi-san opened up the lid off the coffee cup, blowing on it. She eyed Mokuba, suspicious of his noncommittal laughter. "He's not been in yet."

Shouldering the office door, Mokuba arched a brow. "It's like... nine. You sure? Has he called in?"

Ebi-san shook her head. "He sent me a late message saying that you would be in and that's the last I've heard from him. He has a meeting in thirty minutes, and I can't seem to get ahold of him."

"Of course not," Mokuba sighed. As if anyone had in the last few days. "I can give it a shot. As long as you don't tell him that I came in kinda late..."

Ebi-san clicked her tongue, the coffee cup raised as if in agreement.

Entering into Seto's office, kicking the door closed behind him, Mokuba peered around for signs of life, but the chair was pushed up the the edge of the desk. Not that it mattered much. The office was always a sterile, ordered place. Seto's methodical nature made it seem as if there was never meant to be a person there in the first place. Every piece had a place, as it ready for a photo op, even if there was never a camera that had been allowed in the CEO's private space.

The drink carrier was sat on the desk, one of the cups placed by the monitor. Stepping around, Mokuba peered down and found his brother's briefcase tucked underneath. A quiet huff; Mokuba pulled out his phone.

> **〜** **(^** ∇ **^~)Mokuba**
> 
> _I went for coffee! : D where r u?_

There were only so many places he imagined where Seto would have run off to, despite how large the tower was. If he had to guess, he would have found Seto down in the R and D labs, leaning over the necks of the engineers, or possibly making rounds into marketing to take a look at their proposals for the upcoming product releases. If he had any recollection of their hectic schedule over the last few days, too, Seto was also nearing the end of completion of the Duel Academy, and the meeting he was about to miss had something to do with that—Mokuba could fill in for him on that one, if it was necessary.

Glancing down to his phone, seeing no response, Mokuba slid his phone into pocket and left the office. "He's here somewhere; his briefcase is hiding under the desk."

"Odd," Ebi-san said.

Crossing the floor to an opposite door, one with his own nameplate slid into the side with the title 'Vice President' etched underneath, Mokuba entered his own space, kicking down the door stopper. Ebi-san's phone rang, and she answered, hushed, while clacking away at the keyboard. Back to the normal—the daily grind. His own phone would be ringing any minute, disturbing the quiet. Which was fine for him. The quiet of the offices felt too normal for everything that had been transpiring the last few days.

Setting down his own coffee, he scooped up the files that had been left for him, Seto's neat, tiny scrawl on several sticky notes left over top of them.

' _Regarding the Academy meeting.'_ Yep. He was going on his brother's stead.

' _Regarding marketing's holiday plans. Talk to Ishiguro, he listens to you.'_ Of course he does, Mokuba thought, but then again, marketing and PR were his strengths.

' _Regarding...'_

' _Regarding...'_

' _Regarding...'_

Ten different files in total, full packets of information for the rest of the week, it almost seemed like, though he couldn't tell. Leafing through all of them, noting that Seto had gave him instructions for each, Mokuba only grew more curious. The only time these sorts of things were left to him was when Seto was on an extended trip and needed Mokuba to keep their main headquarters running smoothly.

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba**_
> 
> _Seto._
> 
> _Where r u?_
> 
> _What's going on?_
> 
> _I'm worried about you!_
> 
> _You didn't take off or something did you! Please come get the coffee!_

Phone set aside, Mokuba went around to his computer, and found his corporate tablet leaned up against the monitor, a semi-circular headset hanging off the front of it. It reminded him of the prototype headset that Seto had originally designed for _Invictus_ , though this seemed much more refined than before and, judging by the lack of flare and bubbled seams, hastily put together.

Facial recognition opened his tablet, and he laid it flat, staring at the document opened up on it. A blueprint, with scribbled sketches along it, showing the differences between the old headset and the new one. Seto's writing was unmistakable.

' _Put it on and calibrate it.'_

Consulting the blueprint on how to do so, turning the headset over and right ways, Mokuba slid it beneath his ear, feeling a prong poke into his temple, while a small arm hugged along the back of his head. His finger pressed into a small button on the underside of the earpiece, another pressing the home button on his tablet. The headset began blinking violet in his peripheral.

Lowering into the chair, pulling his keyboard out from the drawer slid, Mokuba's eyes kept sliding between everything before him. The tablet, showing where the headset was in the middle of syncing, the files, strewn over his desk with varying degrees of importance, and the long list of emails now appearing in his inbox, all work related.

All of this as if nothing had happened; as if he hadn't been away for two workdays for the hell of it. Not even Ebi-san had said anything. He wondered if Seto had said anything. No, of course he hadn't. Why would he let anyone know about personal turmoil for either of them?

The headset was thrown off before fully calibrating. He didn't want to work on this stupid project because his brother wanted a distraction. His tablet flashed a loud, red 'X' and prompted him to reconnect.

Maybe he wasn't as ready to come back as he thought he was.

"Good morning, Kaiba-san," Ebi-san chirped, and Mokuba stood up from his desk, popping out to see his brother striding in, Isono in two shortly behind, keeping up with his employer’s slow but steady pace.

Seto's feet dragged. His eyelids drooped. No wonder the work seemed so hasty, Mokuba thought. He hadn't been joking that he wouldn't sleep. He didn't appear to have even changed clothes, only removed his suit jacket.

Mokuba's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he saw Seto flash his screen where he had just replied, a crooked smile on his face. Well, better late than never.

"Good morning, Mokuba," Isono greeted. "Is everything going alright?"

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah, everything's alright for now, thanks," he said, his heart softening. Maybe Seto had said something to Isono. That would make a little more sense. "Are...you just getting here?"

Isono shook his head. "I've been with Seto-sama since around five this morning," he stated. "I'm here to escort you to the meeting."

Mokuba looked up, and saw where Seto had crept into his office and took up the coffee cup that had been laid on his desk, coveting it. Yep. Tired. Up all night, if Mokuba had to guess right, chasing after some kind of inspiration.

"Escort me?" He laughed. "I think I can find the conference room, thanks."

Going back into his office, Mokuba grabbed the files that Seto had left him, as well as his tablet, still flashing the red 'X'. He frowned, picking up the headset and slipping it back on, restarting the calibration. Mokuba exited office, locking the door. Seto had emerging from his with his briefcase in hand. The coffee was nowhere in sight, already demolished.

"We received a call this morning from the police commissioner," said Isono. "They are concerned that you may still be a target amidst the investigation; your brother is equally worried."

"Oh."

"It's just a precaution," Isono said. "I wouldn't worry."

Seto approached him, leaning over to see where the piece was around Mokuba's ear. It became a solid violet line in the younger brother's peripheral. "Is this thing what you've been working on all night, nii-sama?"

"Mm."

"...why?"

"I realised what was wrong with it," Seto replied. "It needed a hub world."

Mokuba blinked. "That...seems like to easy of a fix. Does it work?"

"I don't know," Seto replied. The three of them headed into the elevator. Isono pressed for the fifteenth floor, while Seto pressed for basement two. "Haven't had the opportunity to test it yet."

"Are you going back down now?"

"I am."

"Since you're up here, why not come to the meeting with me?" Mokuba asked. Seto's head lulled over, and the tiredness in his face leaked through, heavy. "Yeah...okay, gotcha. Never mind."

"After you're finished with the Academy meeting and Ishiguro, I need you to meet me downstairs," Seto said.

"For what?"

"Testing."

And then, for the second time, Mokuba removed the headset. "No."

"No?" The headset was pressed into Seto's hand. "Why not?"

"Nii-sama, I...look, I like this idea. I really do, I think it's gonna be awesome. But it's...it's about dreams, okay. Right?" Seto nodded. "You've told me what sort of dreams this thing is conjuring for you right now. I don't want to be a part of that."

"Mokuba, that was once."

"How about this?" Mokuba asked. The elevator doors slid open. "You go see Jou, and then I'll help you test. Maybe it'll make you a little less..." his hand went up and down Seto's figure as he stepped out.

"Mokuba..."

"I'm just worried about you, nii-sama. I think it may be more healthy this way." A short pause from Seto, his eyes wandering over Mokuba's face, blank and lost. The doors began to close. "Is that fair?"

"Fine." Seto said.

Mokuba could see the way that he was clenching the headset, and could hear the weight to Seto's one word reply. There was something he was missing still, but it would have to wait for later. Right now, he needed to be fill his big brother's shoes when Seto needed it the most.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. 

> _**Seto (¬_¬) - now** _
> 
> _I'm fine. Focused on something at the moment. I'm downstairs._
> 
> _Thank you for the coffee. I needed it._

"You need a lot more than that..."Mokuba muttered.

* * *

 

During lunch hour, Mokuba checked in on Seto down in the labs, finding that he was still taking calls when they were necessary. For the most part, he seemed to be going back and forth with the technicians on the more mundane side of the programming while the set-up was disassembled. The chairs were pushed off to one side, and wires were being rearranged into the computer mainframe.

"Are you gonna be you tomorrow or am I?" Mokuba asked, and he pushed his lunch towards Seto, who was more interested in the coffee that was provided.

"I'll be me tomorrow. Too much to ignore. The meeting went well?" Seto asked, and he reached over to take a few bites from the lunchbox, clearly made up for two.

"Yep. Ebi-chan emailed you the details. Any progress?"

No answer. That was the extent of the conversation; the technicians drew Seto back over to something that they were fiddling with, and Mokuba didn't think he would hold his brother's attention any longer.

The rest of the day went on monotonously, and by five, Mokuba left out the door, a separate bodyguard following him while Isono went back to Seto. Mokuba demanded updates, and forced Isono to remind Seto to eat dinner, as well as attempt to get him to go home. Pictures included.

There wasn't a doubt in Mokuba's mind where he was going; he was back at the hospital, nodding to the nurse as he approached Jounouchi's door. Even through her thick veil of auburn hair, he could tell it was Shizuka sitting outside the door. Her arms held tight around her purse, elbows on her knees while she scrolled through her phone.

"Hey," Mokuba greeted.

"Hey."

Mokuba sat beside her. "Your mom in there?"

"Yeah. They're letting us in longer now. And together. They say he should be out of the worst of it," she said. "But Mom just likes the alone time. And...I needed a break."

Mokuba smile-grimaced, nodding. "I understand."

Silence fell between them. Mokuba's hands settled together in his lap, his eyes on the bodyguard at the end of the hall. He wondered, as he looked back at Shizuka, if she blamed him as much as he blamed himself. If someone was really targeting him, and that Jounouchi was just collateral damage.

"Hey, Mokuba-kun." Yuugi's voice drew Mokuba out of his thoughts.

"Yuugi," Mokuba looked up, seeing the spiky haired man coming up, a small basket of flowers in his hands. "Hey. Seems we all had the same thought, huh?"

"Mm-hm. I think Honda said he might drop by if he doesn't get off too late," Yuugi said. "Did Anzu come with you?" He asked to Shizuka.

"She just left to go get something to drink. She should be back in a minute," Yuugi smiled, and sat down to the other side of Shizuka. She was eyeing the flowers, reaching out and rubbing the petals between her fingers. "Did you bring those for a Katsuya?"

"Yeah. It was kinda Grandpa's idea, too. Since hospitals smell so bad, he says."

"He's not wrong," Shizuka laughed. "I'm sure he'll love them. We'll have to take care of them."

Mokuba's tenseness loosened, and he peered over the flowers that Shizuka held her hands out for, looking over the simple white petals on them. "Any news?" Yuugi asked.

"Yeah, any _good_ news?" Mokuba piggy-backed.

"Well. Sort of?" She said. "They think they'll take him off the ventilator in a day or two. And while they were doing some tests, he reacted a bit when they moved him. So they think he has a better chance of waking up, but..."

"That's great!" Mokuba said. He would cling to anything.

Shizuka nodded. "Yeah. It shouldn't be too long, I don't think. Katsuya's a fighter."

"An understatement," Yuugi said.

The door opened, and Kawai-san stepped out. "I thought I heard more voices out here," she said. Mokuba leaned forward. Though he and Kawai-san had sat together the day before, waiting for their respective turns, they hadn't said much to one another, only shared a box of tissues.

Now, her eyes were more pointed on him.

"I'm gonna go set the flowers up in there," said Shizuka.

"Here, I'll come with you," Yuugi said. Mokuba stood to follow them.

The mother's eyes softened as her daughter brushed by her, and moved to give Yuugi a little more room. When Mokuba approached, she blocked the door. "Can I talk to you a moment?" She asked.

Mokuba's hands dug into his pockets. "Yeah, of course."

"Thank you," Kawai-san closed the door behind them. "I wanted to say that I...I do appreciate that you're helping my son in this tough time. Really,..."

"But?" Mokuba asked. How many businessmen had he heard trail off like that before?

"But, and this is nothing against you, but I would be even more appreciative if you could leave Kaiba-san out of it."

"What?"

Kawai-san sighed. "He came by last night, stayed for maybe five minutes, stormed out, and then Katsuya had an adverse reaction. His blood pressure dropped and his heart beat became irregular—"

"Seto was here last night?" Mokuba asked.

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"Seto came by," Mokuba said to himself. His vision blurred, and his head dropped. Why hadn't Seto said anything? Especially after the proposal for testing? Collecting a shaken breath, Mokuba looked up to Kawai-san, his hands digging further into his pockets.

"Could we arrange that, please? For Katsuya's sake?" She asked.

"I don't know," Mokuba said. "Probably not. Nii-sama does what he wants."

"So I've noticed. But if you could talk to him—"

"It's not really going to work, you know," Mokuba said. "If he wants to come by, he's going to come by."

"They're not together anymore," said Kawai-san. "He doesn't even have a right to be here. I know Katsuya wouldn't want it."

"You do?" Mokuba asked. He stepped closer to Kawai-san. "He told you that? When? Last night? A minute ago?"

"Well, n-no."

"Because I talked to him three days ago. When he could still talk! When's the last time you talked to him? Huh? How do you know what he wants!" Mokuba's hands balled into fists in his pockets. "My brother has every right to be here as much as Yuugi, or Shizuka, or...or even you! You certainly weren't there when Katsuya needed food, or a roof over his head, but my brother was!"

"Look, I'm just trying to think what's best for—"

"Seto pulled Katsuya out of a dark place," Mokuba said. "Where were you then? Huh? Where was his fucking mother! Huh!"

"Mokuba-kun?" A hand laid on Mokuba's shoulder, and he flinched, his arm flung back towards the touch. Anzu lingered next to him, face contorted to fear and hand clenched at her chest. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm done," Mokuba said. A brief look was spared to the mortified mother, before he turned and began down the hall, hands returned to his pockets.

"He's always so nice..." Mokuba heard Kawai-san stammer.

"What did you say to him?" Anzu asked.

"...nothing."

Mokuba braced his hands on the wall beside the elevator, one palm slamming into the bricks, cursing Kawai-san. Cursing Seto, of all people, but only for hiding the truth from him. At least maybe, now, Seto could come to grips with it. So said his sudden desperation for a distraction.

* * *

 

Weeks went by. Mokuba visited every day after work, but never heard another word of Seto doing the same. At least not from the silent Kawai-san, who would greet him when he arrived and say her good-byes when he left.

By the end of the first month, the visits were becoming more scarce. Kawai-san came up on weekends. Shizuka spent as much time as she could when she wasn't in classes, using a majority of her off days with her older brother. Often, Mokuba would find her leaning against the side of the bed, reading her textbooks out loud to Jounouchi, displaying the two-page art spans and snickering at the critic's interpretations.

Plenty of her drawings of him, quick character studies, were hanging up on the small closet in the corner of the room. They were taped up by the nurses, set into even rows showing the different stages of healing. A steady progression of a face full of cuts and bruises to just the uneven crook of his nose and the still-red scar forming over his right ear, though the hair was growing in around it again.

"Mai said she's coming back Europe here in a few days," Shizuka was saying as Mokuba walked in. "She's gonna come visit, so she says you gotta look good for her, okay? I'll bring in some scissors, we'll get you a hair cut. Look at this."

Setting her sketchbook on the edge of the bed, Shizuka reached up to brush some of Jounouchi's hairs out of his eyes. Her hand trailed down his cheek and to his chest, settling against his breast and watching as her hand raised and lowered, slow and steady.

"He may need a shave, too," Mokuba said.

Shizuka chuckled, her hand lifting from Jounouchi's chest. "You hear that? Mokuba thinks you need to shave. I just did that three days ago," she said. A moment of quiet, and then to Mokuba she said: "He says 'ain't nothin' wrong with lookin' a little rugged'."

Mokuba failed at containing his laughter as he sat down beside Shizuka. "He said that, huh? Yeah, well, there's a difference between 'rugged' and 'messy' Jou."

It didn't seem like there was a point to talking to Jounouchi at first. Mokuba didn't believe that he was hearing anything to begin with, so there was no point in babbling. But Shizuka always was, making up conversations and doing a poor impression of her brother's slang, though her hands always seemed clenched in fists at her hips, imitating his machismo instead. After awhile, it was easier to sit there talking to Jounouchi, even when Shizuka wasn't there. Yuugi had a tendency to do the same, giving his best friend updates about everything that was happening with their friends. When the nurses would enter and shift him or change the sheets, someone would usually make a reply in Jounouchi's stead, to get the nurse to 'hmph' at them, suppressing a smile.

"I like my messy; Mai's gonna love it too. No shavin' me Shi-chan!" Shizuka imitated.

"But nii-chan..." she answered in her own own voice.

Back to her impression. "Nope! No razor near me!"

Mokuba still couldn't stop himself from laughing. "I remember, one morning, we were getting ready to go somewhere...but we were just getting on a plane first, not actually going, and nii-sama refused to leave until Jou shaved," he said. "That was such a weird argument. He ended up doing it for Jou. Put him in a chair and everything."

Shizuka chuckled. "Sounds about right."

"You remember that, Jou?" Mokuba asked.

"I bet he does," Shizuka said. She returned to her drawing, looking up every so often to catch the light as it spilled over Jounouchi's face. "He always told me about those stupid fights. I think he liked them; said he liked seeing Kaiba-kun so serious about the stupid things."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

Mokuba slipped his phone out of his pocket and began scrolling, scanning over a few emails. It was a pleasant sound, Shizuka's pencils scratching against her sketchbook. He felt at peace sitting and talking like this, reminiscing in way he hadn't been able to with either Jounouchi or Seto. Though he could say that Jounouchi was far less stubborn than Seto, and occasionally would slip after a beer or two.

"Mom said Kaiba-kun stopped in once," Shizuka said. "Is he going to again?"

"I don't know. He's been pretty wrapped up in work."

Shizuka rolled her eyes. "Is that what he's saying when you ask?"

"I stopped asking. Waste of breath."

"Well, you know, maybe he just needs reminded," said Shizuka.

Mokuba's phone lowered to his lap. "He's gonna work himself to death instead," he said. "He's gone off the deep end on this crazy project of his. I think that's his version of dealing with this."

"Maybe," Shizuka said. "What project?"

"I..."He really couldn't say, was what he began with. But what did it matter with Shizuka? "It's this weird dream project."

"What? Duelling in a dream?" Shizuka asked.

"No, not like that," Mokuba said. "It's really supposed to be like a virtual reality where you can like, make your own game in your head while you're asleep. Saving your dreams, too, maybe. Seto said it has a lot of different possibilities, but I don't think he exactly knows what he wants to do with it. He started it two years ago or so, something like that, just as something to play with. Mess around with the capabilities of the neural interface he made with the newer Duel Disks."

"That's kinda neat. Making games in your dreams?"

"And playing with other people who are online. Building together," Mokuba said. "I think it's a little scary. Cool, but scary. People's brains are a mess."

"Yeah," Shizuka said. Her pencil sat down on the sketchbook, and she lifted it up to compare her drawing. "I mean, if it has so many capabilities, he should put it on Katsuya and see what happens. We can see what he's dreaming. Or someone can."

Mokuba's thumbs hovered over his phone screen, and his head lifted, overlooking Jounouchi. "You think he's dreaming?"

"I dunno. Probably," she replied. "He always had pretty active dreams. He'd always be rolling out of bed."

Mokuba began to text Seto, erasing it several times, before finally settling on the right words.

* * *

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - 15m ago**_
> 
> _Hey. Got an idea. Hear me out, seriously._
> 
> _You still need someone to_ Invictus _with? If you think you have it stable enough right now why not use try it with Jou? He's hooked up to monitors already, so he's all set to go. And, in some way, he's perpetually asleep._
> 
> _I know that sounds wrong, maybe. I don't really like to think of it that way, but you said this project had a lot of possibilities. Maybe it could help in the medical field, too? Jou could maybe be the test for that._
> 
> _We could find out what happens to a person's subconscious when they're in a coma like he is. It may provide some pretty valuable data for us, at least as far as the project is concerned._
> 
> _And if we're lucky, maybe it can help us figure out a way to help people that are stuck like he is. Maybe we could also wake Jou up. Wouldn't that be pretty awesome?_

The texts came through in a flurry, and when Kaiba looked at his look screen, he was a little mortified by Mokuba's long blurbs of text that forced him to read them in app. It was one thing to receive a million texts at once that all said nothing, but these? Mokuba wanted something, and he wanted it bad.

"Ebi-san," Kaiba said, stopped by his secretary's desk as he read through the texts.

"Yessir?"

"...can you pull up Dr. Usami's profile for me?"

A few strokes of the keyboard. "What are you looking for, sir?"

"Does he work in Domino Hospital at all? Or is he mainly out of Touto?"

"Give me a moment," she said.

As she skimmed through the profile, Kaiba replied to Mokuba.

> _**Seto (¬_¬)** _
> 
> _The project is stable, but we still have bugs after the hub world is breached._
> 
> _Comatose patients don't dream. They hardly have brain functions._

An immediate reply:

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - now**_
> 
> _You don't know that. No one knows. But we could know. You could be the first person in the world to find out. Wouldn't that be a good way to market the technology later?_

Kaiba felt a small laugh bubble up in his chest.

"He has connections to Domino Hospital. He works in their neurology department, it appears. At least when the need to call in an expert."

"Perfect," Kaiba replied. "Contact him and have him sign over authorisation to allow for Jounouchi Katsuya to be moved into the KaibaCorp. infirmary. Make sure he is listed as the primary attending."

"Sir?"

"Must I repeat myself?" Kaiba asked. Ebi-san picked up the phone and dialled.

> _**Seto (¬_¬)** _
> 
> _I'm not a panel of investors, Moki. Try again._
> 
> _You want to try and wake up Jounouchi. You said so yourself. Tell me what you really want out of this._

Kaiba's phone began to ring after Mokuba spent several minutes trying to compose a text and then suddenly stopped. It seemed that wasn't going to cut it.

"What's going on?" Kaiba answered.

" _I want Jou to wake up, you're right. He's been like this for a month...and it might be longer. His chances decrease the longer he's unconscious, they say. They don't know if he'll wake up_ ," said Mokuba.

"I can't guarantee anything," Kaiba replied. "He may not have a mind to connect the headset to."

" _He's not a vegetable. He's responding sometimes. That means he's there at least,_ " Mokuba said. " _If you're gonna say no just say it."_

Kaiba hummed, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ebi-san giving him a thumbs up. She began to scribble down details on a steno pad, which Kaiba read as instructions regarding Jounouchi's condition and what kind of care he was going to require.

"I never said I was going to say 'no'. I said I wasn't sure if there was anything for him to connect to, and that I can't guarantee anything. Does that sound like a 'no' to you?"

" _Seto...really? Really!"_

"Yes, really. In the next few hours they'll be transporting Jounouchi to our facility. We may be up all night doing the initial run. Are you prepared?"

Mokuba was talking, faintly, to someone else in the room. There was a high-pitched scream and giggle. Shizuka. " _Of course, nii-sama. I'll be over when they move him. See you!"_ They hung up.

"Everything's ready to go, Kaiba-san," Ebi-san said. "I'm going to have the infirmary prepared for Jounouchi-san's required care."

Kaiba nodded. "Have R and D set up _Invictus_ near there as well. I only need Nakajima."

"Yessir."

* * *

 

Even with the knowledge of Jounouchi coming to the facility, Kaiba felt mentally unprepared as he entered the infirmary. It didn't feel like a particularly large place, but it encompassed half of the seventh floor, and with enough space that even though Nakajima, Usami and Mokuba were already present, as well as a handful of technicians who were finishing the set up on the opposite side of the room, and then left, it wasn't cramped.

It must have shown, too, how unprepared he was. The door was slid open, but he stood in the threshold, overlooking Jounouchi as Usami made him comfortable, adjusting all manner of machinery around him.

His face as more recognisable now, though his bangs were swept into his eyes. How he wished, for a fraction of a second, that those eyes would open and look at him. Sucking in a breath, taken aback as Jounouchi's body leaned forward, Kaiba had to realize that he wasn't moving on his own. Usami propped him up, sliding his hand beneath Jounouchi's neck to make enough room for the headset to be placed on him.

"How's his condition?" Kaiba asked.

"Stable," Usami replied. "Welcome, Kaiba-san."

Mokuba looked up from the edge of the bed, being fussy with the blanket as he eased it over Jounouchi's casted leg. Kaiba was grateful; he didn't need to see the injuries.

"Is it syncing to him?" Approaching the bed, Kaiba saw where a red line was blinking on the side of the headset. It became a solid line as Kaiba leaned against the railing. "Seems there's still _something_ rolling around in his head."

"Nii-sama," Mokuba whined. "Don't be mean."

"I'm being honest," Kaiba said. "Start running the program with the newest adjustments. We're going to use the wired version for now. Test subject may be shaky or completely unresponsive. If this is the case, the relay should deactivate on his side. Wake me if that is the case."

"Yessir."

Kaiba laid on the bed that was set up besides Jounouchi's, fighting himself to not look over. There was no reason to look over. Jounouchi hadn't moved. He wouldn't blink, wouldn't twitch, and wouldn't laugh.

That laughter.

That infectious laughter felt like it was the only thing he had been hearing in these tests as of late. No matter what kind of dream he was having, what kind of world he was trying to build, he was confident that Jounouchi was behind him, laughing at something idiotic.

Usami began placing the stickers on Kaiba's chest while the executive put the headset on. A syringe point went to his arm. Kaiba grabbed the doctor's wrist, and looked up and over to see where Mokuba was busy helping Nakajima in the corner.

"If Jounouchi becomes unstable at any point, prioritise him," Kaiba said, his voice hushed. His hand gripped tighter to Usami's wrist. "Do you understand?"

"Of course, Kaiba-san."

"Don't disobey me."

"I would never," he said. The tip of the syringe broke skin. Kaiba's eyes flicked to Mokuba, confident he couldn't hear.

"Not even for Mokuba," Kaiba added.

"O-of course, Kaiba-san."

Though his mind began to fade out, feeling the sedative overtake him, Kaiba felt a pair of hands around his. "Be careful, nii-sama," Mokuba said, though his voice was distant. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"I...will see you..."

Those words felt like they were floating, falling, with him as his body slipped into the haze of sleep. His eyes were open, adjusting to the world that was generating around him, the last of the pixels falling into place. It was a plan, white, round room. Infinitely long, and impossibly bright, to the point that his eyes burned when he first opened them.

Kaiba sat upright, his hands set on his knees, and he peered around the room. The 'hub world' that he had made, lacking any fringe details, but serving as a good place for his mind to start in. For their minds to start in, before they began to wander.

Across from Kaiba was a single door, closed, which allowed for him to enter his territory. And if he was correct, behind him there would be another door, which should have lead into Jounouchi's territory. Between both of them was a third door, where the two places could merge.

Standing, he twirled to the chair that was back to back with his, expecting a messy mop of blonde hair sitting upright, though maybe not fully awake.

But it was empty.

"Well lookit ya," he heard. Kaiba lifted his gaze from the chair to the other door. There Jounouchi leaned, arms crossed. A shit-eating grin was on his face. Kaiba couldn't find his voice. "Been a while, ain't it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chap is a bit Moki centric, but from here on out, it’s gonna deal with a lot of Seto/Jou and probably lighten up a bit too. :3. 
> 
> See you next Tuesday!


	4. For Our Unconquerable Souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely edited this and then managed to copy over it with the non-edited version...so painful! Short of deleting the whole thing. I probably shouldn’t use notes off my iPad, but whatcha gonna do? 
> 
> Thank you very much for the wonderful comments and kudos! I do appreciate them!

" _...heart rate is rising..."_

The nerves had trouble settling in Kaiba's stomach. The similar, unsettled feeling from before crept up his neck like a chill. His hands curled into fists and the nails dug into his palms, happy that this was all happening in an intangible place, otherwise, he may have drawn blood.

Maybe he would, Kaiba considered. He'd found his fingers trying to grip the nonexistent ring before.

"It has," Kaiba replied, his voice found. Walking forward, flattening his palms against his thighs, Kaiba pushed away any unknown feelings. "Jounouchi."

"Kaiba." Jounouchi bridged the gap between them. Standing a breath away from Jounouchi, able to look him in the eye, see him dressed down in a faded graphic tee and ripped blue jeans, lean with his head cocked to the side and nonchalant, felt oddly cathartic. There was still anger bubbled in the back of his chest, and there were plenty words that needed to be said, but for the briefest of moment, the two years it had been since he spoke with Jounouchi didn't exist.

"Where the hell did ya drag me now?" Jounouchi asked.

And then the illusion broke.

"I didn't drag you anywhere," Kaiba replied.

"As if," Jounouchi's scoffed. "This looks like one of your weird ass science labs."

"It isn't."

"No? Then where am I?" Jounouchi asked. He brushed by Kaiba to walked the length of the room. "Ya know what, I know; you're just a dream. Figment of my imagination. Mokuba musta made me try one of those weird drinks o' his and I'm jus' gonna wake up an' not remember."

Kaiba's lips curled to a grin. "Alright then, wake up. Go ahead."

"Gladly."

Jounouchi closer his eyes tight enough that his face reddened. His hands curled at his waist, fervent. When the honey eyes popped open again, Kaiba was disappointed but unsurprised. It wasn't going to be that easy—he wasn't even sure what it looked like when someone 'woke up'. He was the only one that had been awoken from this place so far.

Jounouchi's hand swept through his hair. "That din't work," he said. "Prolly 'cause its like I said: ya dragged me somewhere."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're bitter 'bout, ya know, whatever. I'm jus' pissed ya prolly went an' got Mokuba involved," Jounouchi said. He had begun to circle the interior wall, hand running alongside it. "Mokuba! This isn't funny, I don't wanna see this asshole, I—"

"Mokuba's not here," Kaiba said. "No one's here but you and me."

"Yeah, no shit, I can see that. This place don't even have windows. I mean, what the hell's with the bright white here? Ya tryin' to be creepy?" Jounouchi's hand settled on the knob of the door he had started at. "Look, I'm gonna leave, if it's all the same to you. I don't know what I'm doin' here, can't say it was pleasant to run into ya this way but I—" As soon as Jounouchi flung the door open, he stopped talking. His entire body bolted backwards, clinging to the handle of the door and while his ankles tied over one another. Shuddered breaths, almost yelps, came panting out of Jounouchi as he dropped to the floor.

Kaiba approached from behind, peering above the door, seeing where a thin red line, the same as the colour of Jounouchi's headset, glowed above the door. It assured him that this was Jounouchi's 'territory' in the game. His mind, if Kaiba wanted to be realistic.

The area through the door was vast and open, with no horizon, and no shade to denote an end to be found, even though dapple-grey clouds hung low from the sky. Below, the ground was made of a puzzled mess of prismatic and asymmetrical shapes that interlocked with one another, as if a stained glass window had been laid to tile a floor. The further they stretched on, the less opaque they became, the colours bleeding out into the nothing.

"Where—where the hell are we?" Jounouchi stuttered. He slid back until he hit Kaiba's shins. The executive stepped back as Jounouchi twisted around, reaching for something to pick himself up with.

"A game."

"You're lyin'."

"Fine, don't believe me."

Jounouchi hung onto the threshold of the door, one foot poking out, slow. The toe of his sneakers tapped against the glassy floor, sending a ripple of rainbow shimmers cascading out. As they dissipated, Jounouchi stepped again, his entire foot against the surface.

"I don't...how is...this ain't...what...?"

"As articulate as ever."

Whipping around, nostrils flared, Jounouchi muttered: "Bastard..."Both feet touched the ground, and once Jounouchi was comfortable that he wouldn't fall, he kept walking forward. "This ain't no game I ever saw. It's pretty damn empty."

"It reflects its user," Kaiba commented. He strolled through the doorway with Jounouchi.

"How ya mean?"

"Because this is also your mind," he said.

Jounouchi's brow raised, and Kaiba caught him mouthing the last words. "Woah, hold the phone. What the hell are ya goin' on 'bout? That makes no damn sense. How in the world is this my mind? An' why the hell would I be in a game with you? Why would I even agree t' that..."his hand went up to his forehead. "Man, I must be really drunk."

Kaiba snorted, pushing away his grimace, and muttered to himself: "If only."

"What?"

"Nothing," Kaiba said. Clearing his throat, he added: "You're not drunk."

"No? Then why am I doin' this, whatever-the-hell-it-is, with you?" Jounouchi asked. "Why are you here? Why am I here? What the—"

"Shut up!" Kaiba snapped. His rising anger was being inflated by his fear of this explanation, having hoped that Jounouchi would just accept that they were in a 'game' and that all they had do was win so that he could wake up and be back to normal. As if the only reason that he was still unconscious was because he hadn't beaten the boss. "You're not drunk; you were never drunk. You and Mokuba never even made it to a bar."

"You still ain't makin' any sense." Jounouchi's face went from reddened annoyance to blanched confusion. Kaiba guessed that the last things that he could recalled were whatever he and Mokuba were doing just before they walked outside.

"If you could figure out how to stop talking, then I'd have the chance to tell you." Kaiba made his eyes meet Jounouchi's and wouldn't let them stray, wanting to affirm Jounouchi that he was being honest. He forced down any feelings on the matter, considering them inconsequential. Jounouchi was going to have to find out sometime. He thought about all the details that the police had shared with him through the course of the investigation, and all of the details that Mokuba had shared with him regarding Jounouchi's condition. Objective, undeniable details that made the situation easier to swallow. For Kaiba at least. "A month ago, when you and Mokuba were headed out, you were involved in a hit and run. You were taken to the hospital, treated, and have since remained comatose."

Jounouchi looked to his hands, turning them over before looking up his arms. "I'm not hurt though."

"Why would you be?" Kaiba asked. "Like I said, we're standing inside our minds. Our dreams, specifically. They're being linked by a device that's constantly reading neural output and stimulating our subconsciouses, reacting as fast as we can think and projecting a vast library of programs and code to hold all of this together into a cohesive experience. Your mind is a controller; your body is your avatar; this area is your sandbox."

Jounouchi, halfway through Kaiba's explanation, began laughing. Some of it seemed in disbelief, but Kaiba could hear that same giddy laughter that had been following him from test to test in the last month.

"Man," Jounouchi said, shaking his head. "Ya haven't changed much, gettin' all excited over that technobabble. I'd be lyin' if I said I didn't miss it. Even if ya sound crazy."

Kaiba's lips twitched, and he broke eye contact, looking off the side as thunder sounded in the distance.

"I'm really in a coma?" Jounouchi asked.

"You are," Kaiba replied. "And I've been sent in to get you out."

"You?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm best suited for the task," Kaiba replied. "It's my device. I know how it works."

"Not because you want me to wake up?" Jounouchi asked. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky. The clouds above them began morphing from grey to an off purple colour, swirling malevolently. "Kaiba?"

"I heard you," Kaiba replied, and chose his next words with care. "Mokuba will be happy to see you awake. He thinks this is his fault." He saw Jounouchi's shoulders drop, and a grimaced smile appear.

"I doubt that. If anythin', I prolly was pushin' his ass outta the way or somethin'. Always thought I'd go out doin' something stupid like that," Jounouchi said. That wouldn't make Mokuba feel any less guilty, Kaiba wanted to say, nor was it necessarily stupid so much as it was instinctual. It wouldn't have been the first time that Jounouchi had risked himself for Mokuba. Maybe the investigation would turn that up, too. "So, how do we wake me up?" Jounouchi asked.

"Not by closing your eyes," Kaiba said.

"No duh," Jounouchi said. He stared the floor as he walked, stepping around quickly and watching as the coloured ripples washed back and forth like the tide. "Ya got any ideas?"

Kaiba shook his head. "Not off-hand."

"You're a load of help," Jounouchi said. "What can this 'game' do then?"

"Whatever you want it to," Kaiba replied. "Its controlled by your brain; use your imagination. Theoretically, you could make a door that leads there."

Jounouchi gazed into the emptiness. "Ya really think that imaginin' myself awake will work?"

"I don't know if anything will work," Kaiba said. "That we're even standing together like this is a scientific marvel."

"Don't get too full of yourself," Jounouchi said. He kept his back turned to Kaiba. "Ain't _that_ hard for us to be together, no matter how bitter ya are. We managed it before."

The break in the conversation stabbed Kaiba like a cold knife between the ribs. The words were so basic and unafraid, in the way that Kaiba hadn't been able to manage yet. It had been two years, but he was still left reeling at the sight of Jounouchi. Why was it so easy for the blond to talk about it? "Stop stalling and just make something already."

"How?"

"Use your brain!" Kaiba snapped. More thunder sounded. Jounouchi flinched. "How many times have I said it? I don't mean it figuratively."

"Okay, okay, sheesh...so I jus' need t' think of somethin'. Okay," Jounouchi said, exhaling and shaking out his hands and wiggling his fingers. "Okay an'...poof!"

Kaiba's nose curled. "'Poof', Jounouchi, really?"

"Man, shut it," he said. After a moment, he added "Okay, this is sorta neat. Gotta hand it to ya," he said, and he turned around, showing off his first creation. Between both hands were a set of fanned Duel Monster cards. "I could make a pretty awesome deck in here. Lookit this. Lookit all these."

Kaiba stepped closer as Jounouchi revealed the vast number of cards in his hands, more materialising with the push of his fingers. The Red Eyes Black Dragon, in full detail, sat on the top. Kaiba plucked it out, inspecting it thoroughly, as Jounouchi thumbed through the cards, looking over the artwork. "Neat. Now make your deck so we can play. Maybe beatin' you's a way to get out."

Kaiba cocked a brow. "If that's your way out, then you'll be stuck here forever," he said. Jounouchi glanced up, his tongue stuck out, with Kaiba sure that he heard 'prick' before he went back to looking at the cards. "I can't make my deck right here if wanted to, anyways."

"Why not?"

Jounouchi moved back, a chair materialising beneath him to sit in. When he did sit, he looked back at it with his mouth forming a small 'o', realisation hitting him. As he leaned forward, his elbows were propped up against a materialising school desk.

Kaiba braced his fingers against the corner of the desk, gazing up to the sky as it was slowly swallowed by a ceiling expanding overtop of them. "In order to create balance in the game, I had to compartmentalise everything. Only you can work in your mind, only me in my mind, and then there's a third, neutral space that we could both work in. The game would crash otherwise."

Jounouchi began laying the cards on the desk in piles, almost unaware of the environment changing around him. The four walls materialised in an instant, meeting with the ceiling and the corners. The details came along with it. Windows that still displayed the vast horizon and purples clouds, shelves with books and supplies. A teacher's desk in the front of the room, just in front of a blackboard with scribbled characters that meant nothing. The desks and chairs were in neat rows, six across and five back, with Jounouchi centralised between them.

Kaiba grabbed the chair behind him and sat down in front of Jounouchi, noting that he had even changed his outfit to their navy blue school uniforms. Looking down, Kaiba grinned, seeing that his sleeves were the same navy blue, and he felt the Mandarin collar brushing against his neck.

"Jounouchi?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you thinking about high school?"

"Yep."

The bell trilled to start the period, but the classroom remained empty. Another roll of thunder sounded, loud enough to shake the windows. Jounouchi's head rose from the cards, organised by type, and when he saw Kaiba, he snorted.

"What?" Kaiba asked.

"Nothin'," Jounouchi said. One hand covered his mouth, suppressing his squeals, while the other was poised at Kaiba. "Nothin'. Jus', ya know, shouldn't ya," a deep breath, "shouldn't ya be in the front row, Mr. Genius? Wouldn't," another deep breath, "wouldn't wanna miss the lesson, would ya?"

All of Jounouchi's face was reddened by the end of the statement, his hand slapping on the desk. Tears had formed at the corners of his eyes. Kaiba wasn't even sure what the blond found so funny, nor did he have to. Jounouchi's infectious laughter was making his own stomach pit to try and suppress the tickling feeling. His lips tightened and thinned to stop himself from chuckling.

"You're an idiot," Kaiba said. A small huff betrayed his laughter, sucked back down immediately.

"A-ha!" Jounouchi jumped from his seat, his finger inches from Kaiba's nose. "I made ya laugh."

"You didn't."

"I did," Jounouchi said, and leaned across the desk. Kaiba leaned back. "I still got it. After two years, I can still make you laugh."

"Meaning...?"

Jounouchi shrugged, the last of his laughs tapering off, but his toothy smile still lit up his face. "I dunno. Does it gotta have a meaning?"

Did it? Kaiba asked himself. And if it did, what meaning was there to be had? Did it really matter that, now, Jounouchi was trying to get him to laugh at idiotic things?

Before, Kaiba recalled, in long stretches of silence and often while they were travelling on a plane, making him laugh was Jounouchi's entertainment. He would slowly creep up as Kaiba read, freezing whenever he would look. Once his eyes returned to the pages, Jounouchi was on the move again.

Sometimes, he would approach from beneath, popping up underneath the book, and rest his chin on Kaiba's stomach. Other times, his body would be in a slow-motion slide until his body rested against Kaiba's shoulder. Sometimes, he would dangle both arms from above until he could grab onto Kaiba's wrists and pull the book out of his line of sight. Every time, no matter the circumstance, no matter how well-worn and weary he was at the moment, Kaiba would laugh. He didn't know why, because it didn't really seem that funny. But he laughed anyways. And Jounouchi would laugh with him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"No," Kaiba replied.

"A'right then," said Jounouchi, satisfied. The bell sounded again, more shrill this time. "Time t' go. C'mon. Let's explore."

Jounouchi strode through the rows of desks and headed for the door, Kaiba just a step behind him. Outside, the hall was filled with a students, none of whom seemed distinct. The details that Jounouchi was filling in as he passed them by. The executive bobbed and weaved through their shoulders, losing his pace as Jounouchi went forward, finding less resistance against the grain.

Jounouchi turned a corner.

"Jounouchi," Kaiba called, picking up his stride to reach the turn. The further down the hall he went, the less the students became. He stepped into the intersection. "Jounouchi, stop wasting time."

Lightning exploded into the building, toppling Kaiba backwards as it collapsed a portion of the ceiling. Every door in the hall blew open. The lockers chattered. Papers wafted down from the ceiling. The thunder continued to rumble, lowering to a low roar that pulsated in his ears.

Kaiba's hand gripped onto then corner to pull himself up, turning the corner. "Jounouchi! What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothin'!"

"The lightning!"

"I said I ain't doin' nothin'," Jounouchi replied. He took careful steps backwards. "What kinda enemies did ya program into this game?"

Kaiba raised a brow. "I didn't."

"Then what the fuck's that thing?"

Kaiba poked around the corner, but only so far as Jounouchi would let him, a hand planted firm on Kaiba's shoulder and clenched the fabric of his coat.

At the end of the hall was an inky Black creature that seemed to touch every surface. Jagged pieces of glass stuck out of it from all sides, some of them oozing dollops of mushing, blood-like streams that splattered on the floor like flesh striking flesh. There seemed to be no place that it ended or began in the mass, and though large, its feet were nimble, with long talons clicking against the tile. Each step left behind oozed, paw-like tracks as it approached. The rumble of thunder started as it opened its maw, sharpened tusks for teeth protruding from the mass. A long, snake-like tongue rolled out from between them, remaining so even as the maw closed.

A glitch?

Kaiba was frozen in place, drinking in every deformed feature, unsure. For the time that he did, it felt like the pin-holes that were meant to be eyes were appraising him back. His fingers twitched. His breath hitched before it evened. One foot slid forward.

The creature reared up and rushed into a run, leaving smears of itself behind on the walls.

"Run! Fuckin' run!" Jounouchi didn't give a Kaiba a choice. He had a firm grasp of Kaiba's wrist and pulled them around the corner, running so fast that Kaiba had trouble finding the right stride to keep pace. He couldn't hear his or Jounouchi's footfall clatter over the rapid advancement of talons scrapping and clattering on the tile.

" _...heart rate is spiking..."_

Kaiba looked over his shoulder as the creature rounded the corner, slamming into the corner, unable to control its direction. It leapt on it's haunches and sprung back into its gallop. When Kaiba turned back, their uniforms had dissipated; the walls and the ceiling of the school were fading, spreading out into their individual parts floating in empty space. Pieces of the floor were dropping away at random, for no reason. Only the hallway was ahead of them. Only the creature was behind them.

"Do something, Jounouchi!" Kaiba commanded.

"Like what?!" Jounouchi asked, looking back for half a second, whipping back upon seeing the creature.

"I don't know! Think of something! You made it!"

Jounouchi shook his head, vehement. "No I didn't! This is your damn game!"

"In your mind!" Kaiba countered.

"Is this the the time t' argue?" Jounouchi asked. "I don't know what t' do, I can't just think the fuckin' thing away, a'right? I can't—"

Another bolt of lightning exploded beside them, flashing bright and bursting a hole through what fragile pieces were left of the tile floor beneath their feet. Kaiba's wrist slipped out of Jounouchi's hand as the blond was flung forward. Temporarily blinded by the light, deafened by the bang of the thunder, Kaiba toppled over himself,hands outstretched and searching for anything to pick himself up again.

"Jounouchi?"

A heavy, humid weight landed atop him, dropping itself on his knees and pinning his legs down hard enough that he cried out. His toes curled to fight the encroaching numbness. Blinking the last of the blindness away, Kaiba was face to face with the maw of the creature, hanging open and spewing a fetid stench with each breath. The snake-like tongue whipped about, grazing along his cheeks.

This wasn't real, Kaiba kept telling himself. This wasn't real; it was just a figment of Jounouchi's damaged brain that was projecting itself into the territory. But everything about it felt real. The smells, the sounds...the fear racing in his body, pumping his heartbeat into his ears and hitching his breath to short, terrified pants while he tried to think some way out of this.

" _...brain waves are erratic..."_

" _He's sweating..."_

Kaiba reached up and wrapped his hands around the tusk-like teeth and pushed against the lowering head. His forearms ached and elbows shook as he put all of his weight against it, making no headway, but stalling its descent. The tongue flicked wildly as the creature shook its head to try and weaken Kaiba's hold. Something solid hit Kaiba across the cheek. Solid and metal, cool to the touch. It struck again, cutting into his skin and making his teeth rattle. He sought out the source, keeping his focus on the tongue as it lashed about. Something glinted at the tip, the tongue knotted around it. It skirted in front of his eyes for just long enough to see.

A ring. _The_ ring. 

"Seto!" Jounouchi shouted. "Get the fuck off him!"

The creature's mouth widened, bucking Kaiba's hands from it as it shrieked and was thrown to the side. A cascade of flying classroom doors came crashing in front the right, breaking against its side, raining splinters and sawdust over the area. The weight lifted from Kaiba's legs and he crab-crawled backwards.

The assault of doors kept up until the creature was pushed to the end of the floor, still falling in chunks around them. It pawed at the doors the flew towards it, striking them away, until a strike of three doors at one sent it over the edge, its talon hooking against the tile remnants. It hung just long enough to make its drop all the more satisfying. A thunderous growl faded along with it.

" _...wait...heart rate down...don't..."_

"Fuck, Seto. Are you okay?" Jounouchi asked.

Kaiba nodded and pulled himself up onto his knees, turning to where Jounouchi's voice was. The blond stood several yards away, his arms up and his hands out. An array of doors lined up behind him like soldiers. When his arms dropped, the doors fell with them.

"Shit, you're bleedin'." Jounouchi sprinted over and grabbed one of Kaiba's arms to pull it over his shoulders. The brunet nudged away from Jounouchi's aid, preferring to pull himself upright. A thumb wiped against his cheek, and Jounouchi displayed it to Kaiba where it covered in blood. "Sure you're okay?"

"It's not real," Kaiba said, his own fingers wiping at the cut. Real or not, the blood was warm and sticky. He rubbed it out between his fingers.

"Ya screamed."

"I'm fine, Jounouchi," Kaiba pressed. "I've cut myself worse shaving."

The scrunched expression Jounouchi gave him disagreed, and Kaiba pulled his hand up to block Jounouchi from trying to wipe away more of the blood. The ground shook beneath his feet, toppling Kaiba onto all fours. More floor tiles fell into the abyss. "Are you doing that?" Kaiba asked.

"No, jus' the doors."

"Then we should leave. Whatever that _bug_ was has damaged the program."

"Yeah...yeah good idea," Jounouchi said. He wrapped his arm in Kaiba's and eased them both back up. Kaiba pressed forward, following the jagged remainder of the floor made a path back to the door of the hub world. "Not even a 'thank you'?"

"For what?" Kaiba looked over to Jounouchi, down at where his hands were still wrapped around Kaiba's elbow, and back up to Jounouchi's expectant face. He pulled his arm away and quickened his pace.

"Savin' your hide from that thing."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I could have handled myself."

"Whatever."

"Hn." Kaiba's hand went back up to his face, tracing where the tongue, and the ring, had cut into his face. He sighed; the exhausted aftermath of terror still hung against his ribs. "The doors were clever."

"Eh?"

"You heard me. Don't make me repeat it." Jounouchi was simmering in quiet delight that Kaiba could feel. Looking back, catching that Jounouchi had stalled, he caught sight of another smile. A different smile. Innocent. Proud. Warm. Kaiba's stomach fluttered, and he rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Nothin'."

Kaiba arched a brow. "No?"

"Nope. Jus' that you..."Jounouchi rolled his shoulders. "Never mind. It's nothin'."

"Say it."

"It's nothin'!" Jounouchi said. The floor shook again, wobbling them about. Jounouchi stumbled forward, hands landing against Kaiba's breast. The brunet wheeled back, grabbing both hands to throw them away, but only clutched tighter as he saw what was happening.

The entire path of floor they have been walking began to collapse at once, each tile dropping in rapid succession. His back peddling wasn't quick enough to feel air dropping beneath him.

Holding tight to one of Jounouchi's hands, Kaiba made a sharp pivot and sprung up from one of the falling tiles. His other hand shot out and clung to the threshold of the door, fingers curling and tensing to hold onto the groaning metal. He bit back the moan where Jounouchi's body weight pulled from the opposite side, his nails digging into Kaiba's wrist.

"Floor! Come back!" Jounouchi shouted. He looked up at Kaiba and back down to the empty space beneath. His eyes squeezed closed. "Dammit floor! I said come back!"

The rush of terror in his chest returned, amplified, and he tried to use what little strength was in his arm to pull them up into the hub world, but he dropped right back down. His shoulder snapped, almost tearing out of place and left ablaze in pain. He cried out.

"Seto! Stop it, fuck!" Jounouchi wriggled and looked back up, his eyes shaken with fear. He kept looking between the Kaiba and the floor, mouth hung open in a groan. "No. No, that...that can't be it...” Jounouchi muttered.

Kaiba looked down to Jounouchi, struggling to ask: “Hgn...argh, what?" 

"This is a dream, ya said?" 

Kaiba fought the pain in his shoulder as he tried to pull up again. "Yeah? What of it!"

"Drop me then!"

Kaiba's eyes popped. "Are you insane? You'll fall!"

"Exactly," Jounouchi replied. His grip on Kaiba's wrist loosened.

"That's it. You're officially brain damaged...ngh!" His body dropped back down again, the pain hitting him in a wave of nausea.

"It could wake me up!"

"It could kill you, too! I don't know what happens when you die in here!" Kaiba said. Tears pricked in his eyes. He could feel his own fingers slipping from the threshold.

"... _all vitals unstable...Kaiba-san?..."_

" _No...we have to...Jounouchi-san's blood pressure..."_

"No." Kaiba shook his head to the voices, knowing that he was close to either being pulled or waking up. Jounouchi's fingers lifted from his wrist. "Don't you dare let go," he ordered.

"Ya fall in dreams an' they wake ya up, Seto! I'm scared as fuck but we gotta try," he said, voice softening. His grip on Jounouchi tightened. "We gotta."

"If you let go, Katsuya, so help me—"

One last smile. "See ya on the other side."

Jounouchi's fingers slipped through Kaiba's palm. His limbs splayed in the free fall.

Kaiba jolted upright and rolled off the side of the bed, heart pounding in his head and breath jammed against aching ribs. He pulled all manner of machines with him, snapping the wires and tearing the stickers off his chest. His feet hit the floor, his ankles rolling over as he stumbled towards the other bed, panting.

"Katsuya!"

Mokuba gripped onto his brother's weakened body he pushed forward, gripping onto the railing of Jounouchi's bed. The blond was given a once over. Unmoved. Unflinched. Eyes unopened. Rage flared through Kaiba, his hands first shaking the bed railing before hitting it hard enough to feel it in his back and shoulders.

"Nii-sama, what's wrong?" Mokuba asked, frantic. He tried to push Kaiba back.

"Is he dead?" Kaiba demanded.

"No," Mokuba replied. His head swam as he looked up to the monitors, moving one just in view to see the patterned line of the heart monitor still rising and falling. "He's fine. His blood pressure dropped a little."

Kaiba hit the railing again for good measure, only to stop himself from striking Jounouchi instead.

"What happened?" Mokuba asked.

"He didn't listen, that's what happened," Kaiba replied. He backed away from the bed, his hands running through his bangs, wetted with sweat and sticking to his forehead. His hands slid down over his face. The panic was waning, but the last image, the last smile, haunted him and stuck to his eyelids when he closed his eyes. "Of course it didn't work, you stupid..."he muttered.

"Seto?" Mokuba touched his shoulder. Kaiba opened his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"You sure?" Mokuba asked. Kaiba nodded, weak. He pulled the headset off and gave it to Mokuba before heading towards the door. "Where are you going? Dr. Usami wants to check you out."

The door slammed closed. The hallway was cool and quiet. Calm. Much calmer than he was. His mind couldn't settle in the slightest, too many images to think over. Sounds to remember. Sensations that crept up his body that shouldn't have been so tangible. So real. Even a dull pain pulsated in his shoulder; the lash of the ring against his cheek throbbed. His fingers brushed over his jaw.

There were so many questions. Why did the creature exist? Why did it have the ring around his tongue? Why didn't Jounouchi listen to him?

Why didn't he wake up?

* * *

 

The entire night passed before Mokuba was able to get in touch with Seto again. After he had stormed out of the infirmary, Mokuba gave him the space that he had little question was needed, texting him when he didn't return after a solid half-hour. 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba**_
> 
> _Just let me know you're okay. :c_

"What happened in there, Jou?" Mokuba asked. He had pulled his chair up beside Jounouchi's side and played with the blanket covering him. For all the things that Seto had been through, he never lost the ability to be afraid. It didn't come often, and it was never easy for Mokuba to see his older brother afraid. Seto made himself out to be an unwavering beacon of strength, never complaining in the face of impossible odds and uncertainty, braving the worst of it and brushing off his coat at the end of the day. But he could be afraid; when the dust settled, when no one was looking, he could be very afraid. "What happened to you and Seto?"

Jounouchi's parted lips said nothing. 

> _**Seto (¬_¬) - now** _
> 
> _Fine._

One word answers. A Seto speciality, Mokuba mused.

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba**_
> 
> _You don't have to tell me anything._
> 
> _Just let me know if you need something._

There was no other reply for the rest of the night and, after Usami checked Jounouchi out, taking copies of the brain wave printouts with him, Mokuba only lingered for another few minutes before dismissing Nakajima and heading out himself. He had little doubt in his mind that Seto was either upstairs in his office, or he had already made it home and was pouring over whatever it was that had him looking so shell-shocked.

It wasn't until early morning that he received:

> _**Seto (¬_¬) - 4:13** _
> 
> _I needed to process. Ty._
> 
> _But I also need the ring._

Mokuba sat up in bed, mouthing the word 'ring' as he thought about it, his mind still half-asleep. He scanned around his bedroom, yawning, and scratched the back of his head.

Ring?

Mokuba stared at the text, blank, his finger hovering over the 'reply' box, tempting to ask Seto what he was talking about. It was four in the morning when the text was sent, he could have just been tired.

Ring!

Mokuba threw the covers off the bed as he scampered over to the closet, throwing it open and flicking the light on. He dropped to his knees, sifting through various blazers and button-up shirts that had fallen haphazard and were never picked up. It revealed it a plastic tote, no bigger than a microwave, with a few pairs of his shoes sitting in the top of it. Mokuba chucked them out and dragged the box out of the closet.

The contents were bland. Stained, hooded sweat clothes, a few pairs of socks, various toiletries, including a rich, musky cologne than had leaked out and soaked through the pages manga and naughty magazines. It made the entire box smell Earthy, just like Jounouchi. At the very bottom was a sunglasses case, nicked to hell and well worn. Mokuba flicked it open, pushing aside the mismatched cufflinks that Seto had bought for Jounouchi, a gold watch with a broken face, and various small chain bangles to pluck out single, silver ring with broken insets.

Mokuba let it rest against his finger, his thumb running over the edge. As he did, felt a small engraving, one that he hadn't noticed before.

Raising it closer to the light, recognising the characters as Latin, his eyes widened as he read aloud:

" _Amor invictus."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End Act I? If this were to have acts. It sorta does in my head. 
> 
> So I hope this isn’t too confusing, seriously! My brain went a little haywire, and I can’t decide if this is fantasy, sci-if, adventure, or anything else in between. 
> 
> Anyways, tell me what you think. See you next Tuesday!


	5. In the Fell Clutch of Circumstance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time that I’ve written a chapter thinking ‘man, this is short’ and then found out it’s like...two thousand words longer than I thought. Weird.

Sleep eluded Kaiba, consumed with the sensations of the sedated dreams crawling over him. The pressure and heat of the beast upon his legs and chest; the rough touch of Jounouchi's hand as they ran down the hall; strain as his strong fingers gripped Kaiba's wrist and, without his permission, slipped out and away.

After less than an hour of trying to sleep, swallowed with curiosity of the events (and convinced that the sedated sleep earlier was enough to survive off of) Kaiba picked himself up and trekked the empty halls of the mansion, drinking in the somber quiet that did nothing but make his thoughts feel so much louder than he knew they were.

How quickly it had become so silent, Kaiba considered bitterly, and how much this past month had reminded him of that. The air of the house hadn't been the same since Mokuba had moved out; when Mokuba turned eighteen, the suggestion for the younger brother to have his own place had been made by Jounouchi. It had been met with Kaiba's fervent objection, though he had the suspicion that the pair had colluded for some time before that. He assumed that it was easier for Jounouchi to broach the subject than it was for Mokuba, because then it was two against one and Kaiba would inevitably cave, not wanting to deny his little brother the independence that came with adulthood. "Besides," Jounouchi had told him, "it's not like you’re gonna be alone. Ya still got me here."

So then it was also easier to blame Jounouchi, now, for the emptiness in the house, because nine months, he didn't live there either.

Not that it always empty. Every corner, crevice, and door felt full of shadows which, during the day were the comings and goings of the staff but, at night, Kaiba was sure he caught glimpses of previous occupants out of the corner of his eye. Occasionally, he was convinced he could grasp at Mokuba's shoulder as he ran around the corners too fast, or see figures in the gaps of moonlight between the curtains. In long stretches of silence, when Kaiba sat alone in his study, he could hear footsteps, loud as an avalanche, thundering down the main staircase, because Jounouchi never knew how to descend with any grace.

Kaiba knew better than to act on these sensations, these wisps in the edges of his senses. He wasn't crazy. It was years of hearing, seeing, feeling the same things again and again and expecting the same routine from the family that he thought he had built to last. The past, no matter how far, no matter how much he buried it, still existed in those long halls. Loneliness was amplified inside them, becoming a consuming thing—he wasn't desensitised to his situation. Telling Mokuba, in general, or to come back home, was out of the question. It was simpler to huddle himself in the study and drown everything out with work. And  _Invictus_ needed all of Kaiba's attention.

Booting up his computer, Kaiba accessed all of the saved data from the earlier test, it’s data in need of dissecting; Usami had sent him the brain scans, and he had all of _Invictus'_ vitals displayed, each headset giving him different read outs, with Jounouchi's appearing much more subdued than his own when some of the more harrowing events took place.

"Why am I not surprised?" Kaiba asked to no one. "You weren't thinking very hard in there."

Time slipped away from him. One blink, and it was half-past midnight. The next, it became four in the morning. Kaiba yawned, rolling the stiffness from his shoulders and picking up the steno pad, covered with notes and a basic sketch of the creature and its slithering tongue, the ring drawn and darkened through several layers of inch, a question mark settled beside it on the page.

The ring must have been coming up for a reason; begrudged, but more composed than hours before, Kaiba replied to Mokuba's texts and went back to work.

His eyelids drew heavy when he hunched back down to looking over the data; he blinked, rapid, to try and escape the feeling of sand in his eyes from staring at the screen for too long. He yawned again, closing his eyes for a moment.

He felt hands tracing down his cheeks. Rough, strong fingers and jagged nails curling under his chin, with the cool metal of the ring pulling the finer hairs on his jaw. The hands slipped down his neck and collarbones. Arms wrapped around his neck and leaned on his shoulders. A sharp chin on the crown of his head.

"Ya gonna come t' bed with me?" Jounouchi asked.

Kaiba sighed. "No."

"Why not?"

Kaiba's eyes snapped open, and he whipped the chair around to confront the intruding voice behind him, but there was nothing there but bright morning light streaming through the curtains. He had dozed off at the desk without realising, and his dreams were mocking him for it.

Flipping over his phone, Kaiba's checked for the time. 6:52 AM, it read, with text messages already waiting for him. One was the picture of the ring between Mokuba's fingers. 

 

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - 10m ago**_
> 
> _(Image)_
> 
> _this one?_
> 
> _Also: you never told me you had it engraved._

Kaiba stood from the desk and headed towards the shower to ready for the day.  

 

 

> _**Seto (¬_¬)** _
> 
> _I had it engraved._

The shower washed away any confusion in his head, still concerned over the realness of the dream. When he ran his hands over his face, he could feel the difference in the palms. Jounouchi had come to him many times, when insomnia plagued him, and tried to bring him to bed. Always the same words.

Out of the shower, Kaiba woke his phone. 

 

 

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - 5m ago**_
> 
> _Haha. You're hilarious._
> 
> _Amor invictus?_
> 
> _Invictus?_
> 
> _Invictus?!_

He towelled off his hair and frowned.

 

 

> _**Seto (¬_¬)** _
> 
> _Coincidence. It had been engraved before the project._

The statement must have held up, because Kaiba didn't receive any more texts as he finished in the bathroom, dressed, and headed downstairs and out the door, the quiet of the house left behind.

* * *

 A soft knock came to the office door not long after Kaiba had arrived. "Enter."

"Good morning, Kaiba-san," Ebi-san greeted, and she crossed to his desk, setting down a cup of coffee and a stack of files. He took the cup with murmured thanks. "Dr. Usami has left a message for you."

"Regarding?"

"Jounouchi-san. And yourself. He says that he wants to ask you a few questions about your well-being after last night's test."

Any other secretary would have asked 'why' or punctuated their words with concern as to why anyone was asking over his well-being, but Ebi-san was as calm and direct as she always was. "Tell him my 'well-being' is fine and that his services will be required this evening."

"Yessir."

Mokuba slipped into the office and Kaiba acknowledged him before he returned his attention to Ebi-san. "Have any information regarding Jounouchi's condition sent to Mokuba as necessary. Daily, otherwise."

"Of course," she turned around, bowing her head to Mokuba. "Good morning, Mokuba-kun."

"Morning, Ebi-chan," Mokuba smiled. He waited until she left the room to approach Kaiba's desk. The ring was pulled from his pocket, displayed for Kaiba to see, and waved about. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why the ring?" Mokuba asked, and Kaiba wasn't given more than a moment to indulge in the first sip of coffee before Mokuba became impatient. "Did the break up come up between you and Jou last night?"

"No."

"So then why do you need it?"

Kaiba became thinned lipped, and he held his hand out, expectant. Mokuba took a step back from the desk, the ring still displayed like a trophy that needed to be caught. "Mokuba...don't."

"Just tell me why," Mokuba said, pulling the chair back to him and sliding down it, never breaking eye contact; the ring still raised at a eye level between them. Through the ring, acting as though it were a frame, Kaiba caught the mischievous glint in his little brother's eye. A knowing look, with his head ticked to the right, that Mokuba had when he was aware that he had the upper hand. A mixture of pride and annoyance swelled in Kaiba's chest. Sometimes, Mokuba learned too much from him. "What do you need it for, nii-sama?"

Mokuba's voice was stern, but layered with worry and sympathy. There was so much that he could hide from Mokuba, especially after the outburst he'd had the night before. The demand that followed was only going to raise questions. The same kind of forthright concern that he would have given to Mokuba had he been the one to stomp out of a room, angry and disheveled.

Shifting his seat by inches, Kaiba positioned himself in front of the computer, typing away at e-mails he had little interest in other than to peel his eyes away from both Mokuba and the ring. Mokuba's response was to lean forward and rest on the edge of the desk, the ring moved closer. Just an arms length away. He could have grabbed it if he wanted to, snatched it away from Mokuba and ended this game, but Mokuba was only asking the same questions he had asked himself all morning. Why the ring? What was its significance?

"Because it may become necessary in testing," he finally answered to quell the question, but the words didn't cover the absolute unknown in Kaiba's mind.

Mokuba poised the ring up again, turning it over and catching a ray of light off of it. The engraving became more legible against the brightened silver. He sighed and set it on the desk, flicking it over to Kaiba who, with little pause, swept it up and shoved it into his coat pocket.

"I'm still worried about you from last night, you know," Mokuba said. He readjusted in the chair, remaining leaned against the edge of the desk, though his arms folded over one another and his shoulders relaxed.

"Don't be," Kaiba said. "The simulation is very real, Mokuba. It uses all of the senses."

"I know I said you don't have to tell me anything, and you still don't, but...I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know. Even a little bit, you know, whatever you want to tell me."

Kaiba squashed a sigh in his chest. His tongue slid between his teeth, the tip pressed to the point of pain before letting it go. "When I entered, Jounouchi, unsurprisingly, didn't believe where we were. He thought that either I had kidnapped him or you and him were black-out drunk," Mokuba smiled to himself, mouthing 'yeah' to the believability. "He tried to leave and was...met with his _very_ blank mind, and only then did he listen to my explanation of what was going on."

"So he knows he's in a coma?" Mokuba asked.

Kaiba nodded. "Needless to say,  he spent most of the time figuring out how to operate the game and the results were...lacklustre. He made the high school, of all places, and wanted to roam it. I..." Kaiba's mouth hung open for a second, wondering how to mention the monster. It didn't feel necessary; it was just a glitch in the program. "I tried to focus him to find a solution on how to get him out, but the game began to fall apart."

"So it's still having bugs."

"Or Jounouchi's brain damaged," Kaiba suggested.

Mokuba scoffed. "You don't mean that." Kaiba's mouth crooked to the side, forgoing a solid answer. Mokuba rolled his eyes.

"Whatever the reason," Kaiba continued, "that didn't change the fact that we were still in there while it was falling apart. When the floor gave out, we were left hanging like some stupid cartoon characters. He was...holding onto my arm and got the bright idea to just let go. Said that it would wake him up, because that's what happens in dreams. I told him no, and he didn't listen. Eager to wake up, I suppose."

"That's what you meant then..."Mokuba said to himself, though Kaiba found himself nodding. Mokuba's face softened as he drank in the information, resting his chin onto his forearms. "So Jou actually...died in the game then? And you thought that he was for real?"

Kaiba's hands clenched over the keyboard before the fingers extended out fully, stretching out any stress before setting his fingers on the keys like a touchstone. "For a moment."

Mokuba hummed. For the first time, he looked away from Kaiba, the corner of the floor suddenly becoming interesting. A divot appeared on his cheek where he was biting it from the inside, a look that Kaiba recognised as pensive and guilt-addled. Something he had been doing in the days since Jounouchi had been injured. "Sorry if you didn't—"

"It wasn't real," Kaiba said, deflecting the apology. "Moreover, it was a failure. We need to move forward and figure out a different angle. I'll be trying again tonight."

"Oh. Okay then," Mokuba said, and he straightened himself out, retrieving his phone from his pocket as it began to chirp. The screen was poked at. "You seem pretty eager to keep going."

"The sooner he's out of here, the better," Kaiba replied.

"If you say so," Mokuba chuckled. He swivelled about in the chair for a few moments, the room filled with a duet of machine-gun typing and the gentle 'thunks' of Mokuba's phone screen. "Oh, yeah...I should probably do that," Mokuba said to himself, and he jumped up from the chair, pushing it back to where it belonged. "I'm gonna head downstairs—Shizuka-chan is here and I forgot that everyone was gonna need access passes."

"Bare minimum access. I don't need to run into them in the halls," Kaiba replied.

Mokuba stuck out his tongue and headed for the door. "I figured."

The door was opened, Mokuba stepping out of it long enough to let it almost close before catching it with his hand and popping back in. "Oh, one more thing I wanted to ask about the ring," he said, taking another step into the room. Kaiba had stopped typing and had began looking through files that sat in an 'in' box. "What does it translate to? The engraving."

"Love undefeated."

Mokuba's brows rose. "That's...more romantic than the both of you combined."

Kaiba smirked. "It was."

"Who's idea was it?" A gentle wave of Kaiba's hand, urging Mokuba to go as Ebi-san called for him to answer his phone. He still lingered, leaning against the threshold of the door. "Nii-sama?"

"Both."

Mokuba nodded, a light 'huh' on his breath, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

 In the last evening, Kaiba slid infirmary door open, drawing Shizuka's head up and back towards him. She hadn't changed much from he last saw her, with pouted lips and kind eyes. Her hand covered her brother's, squeezing around the knuckles and loosening.

"Oh, look Katsuya, it's Kaiba-kun. He's come to visit," Shizuka said, her gaze shifting between Jounouchi and Kaiba. "I didn't think I'd see you here so soon. Thank you for taking care of nii-chan. I know that—"

"I'm not here to pay him a visit."

"Don't listen to him," Mokuba said, stepping through the door just behind Isono. Kaiba could feel his brother's glare on the back of his head.

Shizuka scooped her hand beneath Jounouchi's to cup it. "I won't," she said. "But Katsuya will. He says 'Seto, stop being mean t' Shi-chan. She's nice to you'."

Her voice was bubbled with laughter which, to Kaiba's chagrin, Mokuba had joined in on. He pulled his suit jacket off, taken up by Isono and placed over the assistant's arm. For a moment, Kaiba looked back to Jounouchi as his sister whispered to him; she seemed to be in the middle of a conversation that wasn't audible beyond its laughter.

Settling on the opposite bed, Kaiba slipped the headset on. Usami greeted him with a light nod, rounding over to Jounouchi to place the headset on him. "There were some odd results regarding last night's test, Kaiba-san," Usami said.

"I saw," Kaiba said. "We'll discuss them later."

"Odd results?" Mokuba asked.

"Nothing serious," Usami replied. "Inconclusive readings between Kaiba-san and Jounouchi-san's brain scans."

Mokuba curled his nose, lips parted to say something, but stopping as Kaiba summoned Isono over. He dug into the pocket of his jacket and retrieved the ring, placing it on the bureau between his bed and Jounouchi's.

"We can use this test to compare; see if they are anomalous."

Usami returned to Kaiba, beginning to set the stickers against his chest. As he did, Kaiba turned his head to glance over at Shizuka as she said: "You see what he brought? Your old ring. You remember it?" Her head raised, catching eyes with a Kaiba for a second, until he looked away. "I wonder if it still fits you."

Kaiba seriously doubted it, and rolled his eyes to her ignorant question. "Isono, please escort Kawai out once the testing begins."

"Nii-sama!"

"The testing happening right now is sensitive," Kaiba replied, indifferent to Mokuba's outcry. "And there are already indeterminate results. I don't need her skewing them."

"She won't hurt anything, she's just here for Jou; just like I'm here for you."

"It's okay," Shizuka said. Her hands drew away from Jounouchi's, up to his forehead where she pulled out hairs that had become trapped beneath the headset. "I need to get going anyways. Its pretty late and I have classes in the morning."

Mokuba sighed. "You really don't have to go, Shizuka..."

"Would you walk me out, Mokuba-kun?"

Kaiba watched the interaction out of the corner of his eye, and saw how Mokuba looked back him, disappointed, before he nodded. "Sure. This building gets pretty maze-like," he said. "I'll be back, nii-sama."

He didn't wait for Kaiba's answer before leaving and hadn't returned to the room by the time the set-up was complete and the needle poked into his skin. His eyes drew heavy, body acclimated for the lofty descent into the hub world. His eyes opened, stung by the brightness. Jounouchi was right, it was quite white. Something to adjust later.

"Holy shit! You're back!"

Kaiba grimaced as he stood from the chair and looked around, this time finding Jounouchi sitting on the floor across the room. "As are you."

"Yeah," Jounouchi said. "Guess that means it din't work, did it?"

"No, you dropping off into the abyss worked just fine, don't you see?" Kaiba swung his arms around the room. "What do you think?"

Jounouchi snorted. "Got it. You're mad at me."

"What was your first clue?"

The blond picked himself up off the floor, dusting at his jacket. "Ya really shoulda got here quicker. I've been waitin' a long damn time."

Kaiba's brow raised. "What are you talking about?"

Jounouchi walked over to his door, hand on the handle. "I popped in a little bit ago, ya know, an' you weren't here so I thought that I like, respawned or somethin' an' that...well, maybe you hadn't."

"I woke up," Kaiba said.

Jounouchi nodded. "That's right, we're dreamin' in this, aren't we? Guess that makes sense, you not bein' here an' me still stuck. Kinda neat."

"You shouldn't be stuck."

The blond shrugged, and he flung the door to his mind open, revealing a much more colourful place than before. From the threshold of the door, the expanse of a city, not unlike Domino, stood with a myriad of mirror-shine buildings rising high above the streets, visible as far as the eye could see. The closer Kaiba stepped, the more tangible the place became. A smell and sizzle of fried meat from a nearby stall, the acrid hint of smog and oil, and the general mix noise, cars, people shouting, muffled announcements over an intercom, that always seemed invasive in a city walk.

"Well, whatever," Jounouchi said. A car flew by. The sound of police sirens came and went in and instant. "I was here anyways, so I din't want t' waste the time jus' waitin' for ya. I went an' seen what I could make. I think it looks pretty good."

"It looks like a city."

"Boy, ain't you the observant one," Jounouchi snorted, and he smacked Kaiba's arm. "Wanna take a look around?"

"In your mind? No. Not after last time."

"Hey, it ain't broke yet," Jounouchi said. "I've been buildin' for a while in here an' nothin's fallen apart that I didn't want to fall apart."

Jounouchi's statements were only making more questions than they were answering. "How long have you been here?"

"I dunno. Felt like a while," Jounouchi said. "Why?"

"As I said: you shouldn't be stuck here. Not without me. It requires two people to run the device," Kaiba said. He took a step back from Jounouchi's city, though he observed as the sky began to change from a bright blue to a stain of sunset colours painting against fluffy clouds. An airplane was flying by, though it didn't seem shaped like a normal airplane, instead, it had the wing-expanse of dragon. Amusing. He wondered what other details were flittering about in Jounouchi's city. What small things he felt were necessary to make, or what pieces his mind just filled in along the way.

"I tried openin' the doors to your side an' that third door, but they were locked."

"Were the lights on?" Kaiba asked.

"Lights?" Stepping back, Kaiba pointed to the red bar over Jounouchi's door before turning towards his own, glowing a deep blue. The blond scratched his head. "Didn't notice 'em, t' be honest. If they're off, that mean no one's home?"

"Essentially."

"So then I can look in yours then?" Jounouchi went across to Kaiba's door and threw it open. "I've been wantin' t' see this; I bet it's jus' your office."

The door widened fully, and Kaiba approached to take a look as well. He could already feel the dampness of the rain permeating the hub world, little droplets splashing onto the tips of his and Jounouchi's shoes. The space was just as endless as Jounouchi's had been, cast in dark shades of blue and dim spaces of grey. It rained for miles, enough that it didn't matter if it stopped in any place or not, save for the central spot. There, in the place with no rain sat a desk, small and simplistic, with a clunky, outdated CRT monitor sitting atop it.

"Wow." Jounouchi stepped inside, his clothes wetted and clinging to his skin in less than a minute. He swept his dampened bangs from his eyes. "Rain an' a computer. Close enough t' your office."

"Not even."

"Look at this!" Jounouchi's arms flung out. "What the heck _is_ this?"

"How should I know?" Kaiba asked. As he stepped in, he had an umbrella materialise in his hands, flicking it up and over his head. The rain was assaulting, ice-cold, almost to the point of being sleet that collected to slush squashing under their feet.

"Turn it off," Jounouchi demanded.

"Why should I?" Kaiba said. "I like it. It's austere."

"You're austere."

"That's not an insult."

"Yeah it is," Jounouchi said.

Kaiba smirked. "Simple-minded mutt."

"Snobbish asshole."

They walked forward, with Jounouchi huddling close to Kaiba's side, taking whatever bit of the umbrella he could manage as Kaiba shifted it from hand to the other, determined to watch Jounouchi struggle. "Ya could make me an' umbrella t', ya know."

"I could."

"But ya ain't gonna," Jounouchi grumbled. "Fine, I'll jus' keep doin' this then. You're warmer anyways."

The space between them was minimal, a few blanks between their arms, their hips, their hands. He almost stepped onto Jounouchi's foot, half-tempted to stamp on the toe of it, before simply shoving him at the shoulder. Gentle, no force. Enough that Jounouchi shoved him back, playful, and he stumbled over his feet. Fingers pinched at Kaiba's shirt sleeve, yanking him back to stop him from falling over himself. His arm yanked away, making space, only to feel Jounouchi's wet skin up against his again.

They trekked up to the desk, and the separating from Kaiba. He ran his hand over the metal desk, poking at the dents and rust stains on it. "This mean somethin' t' ya?"

"Its just a desk."

Kaiba lowered the umbrella and shook it out before letting it dematerialise.

"Yeah, but I been thinkin' 'bout the whole 'this is a dream' thing."

"This ought to be good," Kaiba sighed. He rounded the desk, his hand touching the surface. Fine-grain cherry oak bled out from beneath his fingertips. As the desk changed, his hand continued to drag across it to the blank CRT monitor. It morphed into a more sleek, dual-monitor, lit up with an array of meaningless words and boxes piled together to look something like a webpage.

"Well, when people dream, don't they usually mean somethin'? So like, this rain could mean somethin', an' the boring desk, an' the old computer..."

"It doesn't mean anything, Jounouchi," Kaiba said.

The rest of the office came to fruition as he raised his hand, sweeping it around and controlling each detail as it arose, changing the spacing between the windows and the height of the ceiling.

"But what if it does? Like, okay so, when I first went into mine again, it still had that weird floor an', like, a single tree way out. Like way out, couldn't get t' it, but what if that means somethin'?"

"I'm sure Freud would love to hear about it some time," Kaiba said. He went to lean back, feeling the leather arms of his office chair from beneath his palms. "But I don't. And I really don't think psychoanalytics will get you out of here."

"No?"

"No."

Jounouchi crossed his arms and spun, taking in all the details as they slowly changed. The lighting adjusted to a dim glow, and the colour of the curtains flickered between two different, close shades of maroon. The rain still continued outside, with nothing else in the distance.

"So what's gonna help then?" Jounouchi asked. He faced Kaiba across the desk, hands braced against it. "I was tryin' a few things when I was buildin'. Tried makin' a door to get out, like you said, but that jus' ended up takin' me back to the start. I did try and scare myself awake again, went to the top of a buildin', but somethin' ended up stoppin' me when I jumped. A trampoline, if you believe it. I also tried t' remember what happened...see if that helped."

Kaiba crossed his arms and tilted his head back, his eyes closed as Jounouchi listed his attempts. " _Do_ you remember what happened?"

"Nah," he admitted. Kaiba felt a hand on his knee as Jounouchi brushed by him. Opening his eyes to slits, he caught Jounouchi heaving himself up onto the edge of the desk, his legs kicking out and catching the edges of his pant legs. "I mean, I get 'bout as far as gettin' on the street with Mokuba, an' then I see the driver waving at us, get on the street. Oh! Mokuba's ahead of me, tellin' me t' hurry up, and then..."he shrugged. "Nothin'. None of that stupid movie shit like headlight's or horns or anything."

"Mm." Kaiba's eyes closed again. He didn't need this familiarity, the feeling of Jounouchi so close to him, staring him down from atop the desk. In the past, he would have demanded that Kaiba stop whatever it was that he had been focused on, sometimes to the point of shoving the keyboard onto the floor. "Perhaps you're not trying hard enough."

"I'm tryin' plenty enough," Jonouchi said. "Ain't exactly got a guide on how to wake up from a coma. Right now, I'm jus' hopin' that when I have to pee in here that I ain't doin' somethin' embarrassing out there."

"You probably are."

A foot kicked at the arm of Kaiba's chair. "Jerk."

"Stop wasting time on stupid things like that and keep trying to figure something out. We can make a list and continue to try them until something works."

Lowering his head, Kaiba levelled himself with Jounouchi, eyeing his vulnerable position, legs splayed and his shoulders hunched. His honey eyes were cast to the ceiling in thought, mouth screwed to the side with the tongue sticking out. He looked down, meeting eyes with Kaiba, and he shifted forward to lean his elbows against his knees, their faces drawing close. "I had another thought."

Kaiba adjusted his hands so a pen and paper appeared. "Enlightenment me."

The heel of each foot settled on the arms of the chair. "If I fucked you in here, would it be a mind-fuck?"

Kaiba's eyes widened. He kicked the chair away and stood. "Jounouchi, that is nowhere near what we..."The blond grinned ear to ear, doubled over until his head was at his knees. "It's not funny!"

"It's hilarious! Your face, Seto, seriously. Jesus..." but Kaiba retained his defensive position before he slung the notepad at Jounouchi. It seemed to make him laugh harder. "Oh c'mon! Don't be a prude! Don't tell me ya ain't thought somethin' like that."

"Absolutely not!" Jounouchi reeled himself up with a long breath, hands pressed into his side. "Why would I?"

Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, the laughter tapering away, Jounouchi said: "'Cause it's you an' me here. An' no one else."

"And?"

"Don't be like that," Jounouchi said, the last of the laughs sputtered away. "I dunno 'bout you, but I still think about you a lot." Kaiba's shoulders dropped, his hands loosening enough that the pen teetered on his fingertips. He reeled it back in, clenching his fists to try and regain control. The room was dimming against his will, and he turned away from Jounouchi, scoffing at the statement. "It ain't always PG either, if ya know what I mean."

Kaiba faced the windows, focusing on the empty distance. His hand traced up the windows, observing as buildings began to form themselves in scaffolding, chomping through the empty space. Water filled in the distance, the shoreline carved out neat and careful until he could no longer see it beyond the expanse of buildings. It was still dark outside the windows, little strings of lights cropping up along the roads, the buildings beginning to glow as neon was painted onto the signs.

The rain hadn't stopped, but it was falling slower, lingering in the air and twirling down in fat little balls, as of it wasn't sure whether or not it wanted to be rain or snow.

"Do ya think 'bout me?" Jounouchi asked.

" _...heart rate is rising..._ "

The flat of his palm pressed against the window. He couldn't feel his heart beating fast, but then, he wasn't feeling anything but the hands that slid down his face that morning. Soft words being whispered into his ear.

The world outside had stopped mid-build, the twisted scaffolding still waiting for then walls to be hung on them, the streets waiting to be decorated with all the intricate details that Kaiba could adjust for hours. But even as he stared out at the half-formed amalgamation of the Domino City skyline, he couldn't bring himself to continue bothering with making all the little adjustments. A flick of the wrist, and it continued to to build on its own as he turned back to Jounouchi.

"What?"

"Do you think about me?" Jounouchi said, his words rounded and clear. "Sometimes, maybe? Ya know, when ya can't help it? When, I dunno, when no one else is around an' ya sit there an' think 'man, wasn't that one time pretty fun'?"

Kaiba shook his head. The room flickered. The desk flattened. The windows shuddered closed. They were left in a tight box, an elevator, with the dial ticking down as they descended. His stomach flipped, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the elevator or because of the question.

"I thought ya might, ya know, since you're here now."

"I'm here because I know how this machine works," Kaiba said. "Nothing more."

"So is that a 'no'?" Jounouchi asked. The elevator came to a stop, but the doors stayed closed. "Ya don't think 'bout me? Or ya don't wanna admit that maybe ya do? I don't know 'bout you, but I'm a believer in 'time heals all wounds'. It's been a while since all that shit happened. It wasn't even that bad of shit, we were both jus' stupid, an' since it happened where everyone could see it..."

"Shut up, Jounouchi."

Kaiba shifted to the door of the elevator, his hand pressed against it to pry it open. "I'm sure it sucked t' have t' sweep that under the rug, pretend that you hadn't said the things ya did. Pretend that ya hadn't messed up a little bit, too."

"I said shut up."

Jounouchi grabbed Kaiba's shoulder. "I've had a long time t' think 'bout the stupid shit I said an' did. All of it. An' maybe, now, we outta talk about it."

"We're not talking about. Not now. Not ever." Kaiba shrugged Jounouchi's hand away, and he went to the button panel, looking at the squiggled lines beside each selection, assuming them to be numbers. He pressed one of them, though it didn't light up, nor did the structure didn't move. It was so small, the air around them heavy and dry.

"Why not?"

"Because we need to get you out of here; that's the only reason I'm here."

"I thought ya said it was because ya knew the device," Jounouchi said. He stepped closer, his hands jamming into the pockets of his jeans. "Now it's gettin' me out?"

"They go hand in hand," Kaiba said.

"Maybe talkin' 'bout this is a way to get out."

Kaiba scoffed. "What would that have anything to do with it?"

"I dunno," Jounouchi shrugged. "Who the hell knows what's gonna cause me t' get out? It's not like your comin' up with any ideas."

"What happened between us is not relevant to your situation," Kaiba said. "The fact that I'm here is just that. Fact. Mokuba could have decided to help you instead, and you wouldn't be bringing this up."

"How do ya know? Ya said ya don't know. Why don't we try?"

"No," Kaiba said. He pressed harder against the wall, hoping to collapse it by sheer force. The walls felt like they were tightening, enclosing them closer and closer until the room would suffocate them.

"Well fine, you may not, but I'm gonna clear the air. I've been sittin' on it too long anyways," Jounouchi sucked in a breath. "I'm fuckin' sorry I hit ya. Ya had it comin', always runnin' your mouth, thinkin' you were right about shit. Don't make it right, but I couldn't take it."

"Jounouchi..."

"I mean, how long had we been together then, ya know? There wasn't a thing I didn't tell ya. An' shit, you're the genius, if you were suspicious, ya coulda looked at my phone from yours. I always wondered if ya did."

"Be quiet, Jounouchi."

"I also wondered if ya ever apologised to Mai for draggin' her through the mud."

The elevator walls collapsed, crashing in each cardinal direction, kicking up plumes of snow and sending it into the stiff wind that blew through. The warmth died away to the snow around them. The outside had brightened, overcast with light snow drifting down.

"You want to talk about it so bad?" Kaiba asked. His hand raised, pushing the snow away and revealing the busy street around them. A large crowd of people despite the cold and the snow, all bundled up and a mash of colours and loud voices talking over another.

Kaiba and Jounouchi stood in the front of the crowd, all gathered around a large stage that had been constructed in the middle of a blocked off street, and it took Jounouchi a moment to look up, realising the scene had changed without warning. A loud roar came from the crowd, his eyes drawn to the stage—the source. The corners of his face drooped.

"Seto, don't do this," Jounouchi said.

"This is one of the few memories I did upload onto this device in its early production. I thought maybe I would be able to rid myself of it."

On the stage, a variety of different duellists stood in front of a KaibaCorp. logo, names and rankings listed. They waved and made poses as cameras flashed, wild and numerous. Blinding. Yuugi was at the centre, waving with both hands, meek, his cheeks covered in blush. Mokuba approached him, microphone in hand and slinging his arm over Yuugi's shoulders.

"—it's such a cold day for this, Mokuba-kun," Yuugi said, with a wash of laughter from the crowd.

Kaiba wasn't paying attention as Mokuba rambled on, the rest of the duellists joining in and stealing the microphone from him to talk to the crowd that screamed questions at them. Instead, his attention had turned to the edge where Mai, clad in a purple bubble-jacket and skin tight jeans, was busy talking to Jounouchi, words unheard, her head rested on his shoulder for a moment as she laughed. Her hand patting his chest.

"This was a stupid event anyways..."Jounouchi said. "It was just an ego trip for ya, showin' off all of us after tournament season. As if people didn't know how good a sponsor KaibaCorp. were anyways; I wish ya hadn't done it."

"And I should have never signed Kujaku. I did that at your suggestion," Kaiba mentioned.

The crowd began to dissipate, and Kaiba walked closer to the scene that was about to play out, seeing where the Jounouchi in the memory had his attention torn away from Mai and looked down to the side of the stage where Kaiba stood, motioning for him. Such an out of body experience, standing inches away from himself and watching as he coaxed Jounouchi away from Mai. He hugged her first, tight, before stampeding down the stairs to meet up with Kaiba.

"Seto, please stop this," Jounouchi asked.

"Why?"

"'Cause we were both stupid," Jounouchi said. "We don't gotta relive the memory."

But Kaiba kept looking, feeling the rage filter into his chest as their doppelgänger selves began arguing off stage. Even as close as he and Jounouchi were, he couldn't hear what they were saying to one another. He couldn't precisely remember it either, just because of how the anger flowed through him at the time. There were plenty of flourished gestures made to Mai.

"I ain't doin' nothin'!" The memory of Jounouchi said. "What's your problem?"

"You, Katsuya, if you're going to make yourself one," Kaiba heard from himself.

When he looked over to the real Jounouchi beside him, the blond had dropped his chin to his chest, choosing to admire his shoes instead. Kaiba kept looking on at their doppelgängers, a knot forming in his chest where his heart should have been. It was pained, tightened.

A few more words, unheard, unremembered. His memory self laid a both hands on Jounouchi's shoulders, drawing him close, squeezing and shaking until the memory Jounouchi tore them away, violent, hands clenched in fists as he flung back, pressing his feet into the ground. "It's jus' Mai, Seto! Grow up! She's a friend. Ya gave me this ring for a damn reason, didn't ya?"

"You're right, I did," the memory Kaiba proclaimed. "But I'm beginning to regret it. Did you forget what it means? Let me remind you: it means you're mine, not hers!"

"What in the _actual_ fuck, Seto?"

Kaiba wanted to close his eyes and never open them again, not until the memory was over, because he knew at this point that they had drawn the attention of the media not so far away. They were both normally so careful, their precarious positions always a little compromising, and knew better than to fight in public. This day they were thoughtless. They didn't make it work as well as either of them would have liked. He forced his eyes opened, watched as the memory Jounouchi raised his hand.

The sound of flesh slapped against flesh, hard and loud, enough to echo off the microphone that had been brought near them from an alerted Mokuba. Kaiba saw himself grabbing onto Jounouchi's collar to try and strike back. There must have been a thousand camera flashes in the peripheral.

"Nii-sama! Jou!" Mokuba tried to push between them, prying the Kaiba from Jounouchi. "Stop it! What's the matter with you two?" The blond's doppelgänger stumbled back, teeth bared and angry.

"Is that what it means, huh?" The ring was pried off his finger and flung onto the ground as hard as he could, the gem shattering out of it. "There! Take the damn thing if ya don't fuckin' trust me t' have friends!"

The ring bounced several times before it was left sitting by the toe of Kaiba's shoe, remaining there even as the rest of the memory faded away, leaving them alone in the wasteland of snow. The wind whistled by, the only noise in the vastness. His heart returned to him, the rage draining away. He wasn't even sure if he was truly feeling the rage or if it was just the feelings from the memory. Kaiba settled, staring at the ring until it faded away, blown away in the snow bit by bit.

" _...Kaiba-san... Wake up..."_

"Ya know," Jounouchi said. "That ain't really talkin' 'bout it."

"It's close enough."

"No, it ain't." Jounouchi said, and he pulled on the cuff of Kaiba's sleeve. "Did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?"

Jounouchi's icy knuckles touched Kaiba's cheek, tapping at it gently. "When I hit ya."

"It left a bruise."

"That don't tell me if it hurt," Jounouchi said. Kaiba flinched away from the chilled touch, but let Jounouchi remain clung to his sleeve, the fingers curling up into the fabric.

"As bad as my words, I'm sure."

Jounouchi leaned forward, his forehead touched to Kaiba's shoulder. His hands wrapped around Kaiba's forearm, the pressure adjusting between strong and weak, unable to decide while his face buried further into the shoulder. "Maybe."

" _Please...Kaiba-san...wake up...his vitals..."_

Kaiba closed his eyes, prepared to wake up with the cold engulfing his whole body. Jounouchi's warmth leaned close against him, unmoved and calm, head bowed in prayer. Perhaps trying to find the words that neither of them could think about right then. No matter how much Jounouchi seemed to want to talk about it, or how much he was willing to take the steps in that direction, if only he knew the place to start. If only Kaiba knew the place to start.

When he opened them again, he was surprised to still be standing in the wasteland. Jounouchi's head had raised. "It's cold here. We should talk somewhere warmer."

" _...wake up! Kaiba-san! Wake up!"_

The doctor's voice was fading in and out. Kaiba waited another moment, expecting his body to be drawn out and away, his eyes opening to stare at the ceiling and Mokuba leaned overtop him, still a little miffed but also concerned.

Kaiba squeezed his eyes closed, opened them again. Nothing. Jounouchi still stood beside him.

"If it might get you out, fine. We'll talk...but we should probably do so in your mind."

" _...wake...up...wake him up! Nii-sama!..."_

"A'right. Let's go. I got a buncha cool stuff to show ya," Jounouchi said. He tugged onto Kaiba's arm and pulled him towards the door that lead back into the hub world.

" _...wake...up..."_

Kaiba was confident he wasn't ready to wake up. Not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to get into the breakup sometime. There’s more to it, def, but that’s a start. 
> 
> Tell me what you think! 
> 
> See ya next, Tuesday!


	6. We Have not Winced Nor Cried Aloud

The cold of Kaiba's mind room died as soon as he closed the door, but he didn't leave it. He hung onto the handle, wondering if he was making the right decision. If he was ready for this at all. Looking across, he saw that Jounouchi was already on the other side of the room, waiting by his door with an eager jounce in his knees.

Crossing the room, Kaiba veered towards the middle door, seeing that there was no light above it like the others. He tried to turn the handle, but was met with resistance. Another shake, affirming that it was locked, and he knelt down to the keyhole, finger tracing its shape, a circle with the center filled in.

"Locked for ya, too?" Jounouchi asked.

"It shouldn't be."

"Maybe we ain't, like, linked enough yet or whatever's goin' on."

"It's probably still not coded correctly."

"Whatever. Hurry up. We can try it later." Eager may not have been the right word.

Kaiba stepped into Jounouchi's door with trepidation in his heart, but didn't falter in his step. If the place was going to fall apart again, they had the knowledge that it wasn't going to kill Jounouchi. Not outwardly, at least.

The place felt like a warm spring day, and when cars weren't passing by, Kaiba could hear the hum of cicadas. The further he stepped in, strolling down the straight road that was in front of the door, the more he realised that what he had thought of as Jounouchi's memory of Domino being rebuilt wasn't quite right. The details existed; the skyline was similar, but that could be said about plenty of cities. It had hints of other places in the distance. A rainbow row of houses on a down slope. A simple construction of the Empire State Building, with dots of brownstones up and down the block nearby. Further out, a bay teeming with colourful sailboats drifting faster than they should have been able, given the lack of wind, and passing beneath the bright red expanse of the Golden Gate Bridge.

All of the large details seemed chosen at random, placed together in a way that felt correct and navigable, though he couldn't imagine trying to get across the denseness of the city. it wasn't the large details that he found interesting. Instead, the more he inspected the small details, the more he saw the mix of the Western aesthetic blended with Eastern influences. A thousands voices of rapid fire Japanese, but also a hint of other languages, coming from the steady moving crowd; the plentiful marquees and upright signposts emblazoned with characters that resembled mix-matched characters in hiragana, kanji, English, even Cyrillic, all of which spelled nothing; the buildings were stacked up many stories high, each floor marked with its own shop or restaurant. It felt like home and, at the same time, like he was staying in some foreign city for another conference and he was simply acquainting himself with blocks surrounding whatever hotel he was staying at. So very cosmopolitan.

It made Kaiba crack a grin. Jounouchi? A cosmopolitan?

"So how long were you building this again?"

Jounouchi shrugged. "A while. Not like, days or nothin'. Maybe...coupla hours. Lot of it just sorta built itself."

Jounouchi was several paces ahead of him, twisting around and looking up at everything as if trying to remember just where he was. He reached a corner and hung from a signpost, swinging around it and splaying his body wide.

"That still makes no sense to me." As Kaiba stepped close, Jounouchi grabbed onto his arm and yanked him in. From behind, a high pitched bell tolled, wheels coming to a grinding halt.

"Dreams don't gotta," Jounouchi said. He hopped forward and up onto the open door of the pine-green trolley car parked in front of them. "C'mon. We can talk while we ride."

"In this thing?" Kaiba stepped towards the trolley with hesitation, glancing around to the empty bench seats inside. There was no driver.

Jounouchi leaned in the entrance, his hand held out to Kaiba. "Too rich for public transport?"

The hand was ignored. Pulling himself up onto the high step, chest to chest with Jounouchi, Kaiba waited until the blond backed into one of the bench seats, falling into it. "Where are we going?" Kaiba asked.

"I dunno. Wherever this thing feels like takin' us," Jounouchi replied. "I figured its all 'bout the journey right now."

"Is it?" Kaiba took a seat across from Jounouchi. He felt the trolley shudder to life beneath them, as if instinctually aware that all passengers were present, and took off down a small slope.

"Yeah. I mean, we're gonna talk, right? Don't need a destination to do that. Jus' a comfortable seat."

"I fail to see how this is comfortable," Kaiba said, looking up and down the small space in the trolley. He sighed and crossed his arms. "But fine, talk."

"You first."

"No, thank you."

Jounouchi grumbled. "I...I dunno how t' start."

"Usually with your mouth."

"Yeah, no shit, smartass,"Jounouchi snorted. The insult lack anger, or even passion, falling to a flat din as the blond gazed out at the passing scenery. A hesitant breath shuddered out. "Okay...okay let's see...I...I guess I always did have questions for ya; things, ya know, I never got to ask after everythin' went down."

"Such as?"

"Such as..."Jounouchi paused, his eyes to his shoes as his feet went pigeon-toed, before raising it again. "...were ya really that jealous? Of Mai of all people?"

Kaiba's lips pursed, and his arms unfolded. "I think you know that answer."

"If I did, I wouldn't ask ya," Jounouchi said. "I've been thinkin' that's what it was this whole time. That's what ya freaked out about even. But I couldn't understand why."

"You were always hanging around her; if you weren't at home, or you weren't at a tournament, or doing some odd job, you were with her." Kaiba tried to keep the acid out of his voice, relegating any of that feeling to clenching his fist and opening it again. "Even more so than Yuugi, at least by the last months."

"Because Yuugi was busy all the time! With all the game development stuff. With _you_ ," Jounouchi said, meeting Kaiba's eyes for a brief second before looking away again. "Which meant I couldn't really talk to either of ya when I jus' wanted to. Mai...Mai was a good listener, ya know?"

"No, I don't. I didn't make a habit of speaking to her."

"Well, she was," Jounouchi affirmed. "There was jus' so much stressful shit goin' on. Shit that I couldn't talk about with a bro like Honda. Or even someone as nice as Yuugi—"

"Or me, apparently."

"'Cause some of it was about you. 'Bout us, really," Jounouchi sighed, his hands running through his hair. He turned to the side, craning his neck back as though something had caught his attention. "Mai...Mai showed up at the right time."

Silence drew between them, and the trolley came to a stop on another corner, it's bell ringing out to attract passengers, but no one came. It started up again.

"How long were ya jealous of her?" Jounouchi asked. Kaiba opened his mouth, but closed it again. His jaw crooked side to side. "Was she the only one? Like...did ya ever think anythin' when I hung with Yuugi? Or Honda? Or hell...since it's fair game, Anzu?"

"No."

"So it was jus' Mai," Jounouchi said to himself. "That's jus'...I don't get it..."

"She was different," Kaiba said.

"Different how?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Jounouchi asked. "What don't ya know, Seto? Like, ever?"

"It's not easy to explain."

"But ya can. Ya had a reason—some reason."

Kaiba wiped his palms against his pant legs, and it was his turn to look away, to admire where the trolley had taken them in such a short time. The scenery was no longer a populous city, just the tips of the buildings visible as he looked over his shoulder. They had dipped down by the waterfront, the trolley staying centred between the sun-sparkled oceanfront and a long row of antique boardwalk shops whose facade's were sun washed with half their paint peeled off. It had a placid solemnity, with little sound beyond the gentle crash of waves, no more than a hiss against the shoreline. It made it easy for Kaiba to distinguish the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

How did he explain the nervous jealousy he felt every time Jounouchi was with Mai? How were feelings translated into words when, so many years after, they were more like embers than flames? "When you were around her, you sounded different. Your laugh was different. You were more," Kaiba searched for the word, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, "energetic."

"'Energetic'," Jounouchi repeated.

A soft nod came from Kaiba. "Compared to how you were with your friends, or Mokuba, or even myself, yes. Energetic."

"Can't say I really know what you're talkin' about. Me an' her jus' talked. Or she'd drag me shoppin'. She was really good at helpin' me pick an outfit out of me an' you were headed out somewhere," Jounouchi said with a warm chuckle. His whole body leaned forward, elbows rested on his knees and hands clasped together, fingers knotted up until he unwound them again.

Jounouchi looked up at Kaiba with eyes full of uncertainty, as if he knew what he wanted to say, but couldn't. "I think..." he began, but trailed off. He put his thumb to his mouth, chewing on the nail. A bad habit that he knew was still unbroken.

"Stop that; it's uncouth," Kaiba ordered. Jounouchi's hand fell away, tucked between his knees. He met Kaiba in the eye with a half cocked grin. "Now, what were you saying?"

"Right yeah, uh..."Jounouchi sucked in a breath. "I think...what made me so damn angry when ya said what ya did was because of how much me an' her ended up talkin' about all the weddin' details."

Wedding details.

Warm, prickled sweat beaded beneath Kaiba's collar. The muscles in his calves tensed, and he fought every instinct to lean forward and question those words. Wedding details? It sounded too good to be true. The kind of lie that he would be told to try and smooth all this over or, worse, make him the bad guy. Perhaps if Jounouchi had made more implications than that, but he hadn't. He just sat there, arms folded up against his stomach as he leaned forward, relaxed and open. His face was aglow in the fast falling sunset; honey eyes smiling even if the rest of his face was stagnant but content.

The trolley came to a hard stop mid-way through a turn. Kaiba grabbed for a nearby railing, stopping himself from falling forward. Jounouchi had already hopped up. "Looks like this is our first stop."

"First?"

"Yep," Jounouchi shrugged as he stepped off. "Said I wanted to show ya things. C'mon. This thing'll be waitin' for us," he said, patting the side of the trolley as Kaiba eased off. It trundled back to life and continuing rolling through the turn, following a long, lantern lit track and disappearing among a mess of thick conifers. "...or not."

"You don't have control over it?"

"Sometimes. It's always there when I want it to be," he said. "This way, it's right here on the corner. This was the first thing I built in here, ya know."

"Is that so?" Kaiba followed Jounouchi up to the row of shops, veering towards the corner building which, in comparison to the dilapidated structures surrounded it, was far more grandiose. And familiar, with its matte white finish and gold trim. One of the finer hotels in Domino. A red carpet led them through the front doors and into a marble filled lobby. The front desk occupied by a identical pair of mannequins, uniformed like hotel staff, positioned mid-bow.

They breezed through the lobby to a set of double doors that lead into a large reception hall with high ceilings. It was decorated in shades of blue, icicle lights dangling from the rafters. A variety of mannequins, some dressed like hotel staff, others seeming to be guests in nice suits and dresses. In centre of the room sat a 'U' shaped table large enough to seat fifty people, each of which had a place setting, with more dressed mannequins in each spot. There were two unoccupied positions, one next to a detailed mannequin that resembled a younger Mokuba, another that was next to a mannequin whose hair suggested it was meant to be Yuugi.

Kaiba's fingers ran over the silverware and adjusted the cloth napkins as he stepped to the head of the table. Instinct had him sit down in the chair and reach out for the empty wine glass. "The mannequins are an...interesting touch."

"I can't make memories like you can," Jounouchi said. "The people don't turn out right. They jus' become these creepy things..."

"Then get rid of them."

"I tried. They jus' keep comin' back," Jounouchi said, shuddering. "Anyways, I take it ya remember this place then?" He stepped up towards the head of the table, sitting in the empty space near the right-hand corner.

"Of course I do. This is where you and I became...reacquainted," Kaiba said. That was the best word he could think to describe what had happened, considering how he hadn't expected Jounouchi to be present in the first place. He had thought it would be a boring affair, held only because he had just started sponsoring duellists and had to get a few investors on board with the idea. Yuugi had, naturally, been his guest of honour. "You said you built this first?"

Jounouchi nodded. "Yep. Like I said: I think 'bout ya a lot. An' when I popped back in here I was thinkin' I should make a place we were both familiar with, since you were here an' all. This is what showed up."

The wine glass was sat back down. "Odd."

"I thought so, too. I don't exactly think of this as, like, one of our best moments. But it'd be pretty dumb to act like it ain't important. If I didn't go to this stupid thing, stuff prolly woulda never happened between me an' you."

Kaiba couldn't decide whether he was bemused or annoyed by Jounouchi's interpretation. This was old news, and yet, it felt like it had a different breath of life in it. "I recall you mentioning that you had come for the free food."

Jounouchi leaned back in his seat. "Yep. That's sorta how Yuugi sold it to me, since he couldn't get Anzu t' be his plus one. Surprise, surprise, ya weren't happy t' see me," Jounouchi snickered. "What was it ya said t' Yuugi. Let me think, somethin' like—"

"'When I said you could bring a guest, I meant a human one'," Kaiba answered.

"Yeah, that's it." The laughter started again. He never understood how Jounouchi could be so jovial no matter the situation. Even with them in an intermission of a delicate conversation, it was uncanny how he could find some kind of silver lining, something to ease the tension. In their relationship, that ability proved useful in times of duress, where Kaiba couldn't break himself from a single-minded task and Jounouchi managed to make him loosen up to the most absurd ramblings.

"I wouldn't say dinner was the important part." Kaiba said.

"Nah. You're right. But the food was good. So was the booze; you were knockin' 'em back, if I remember right."

Kaiba sneered. "Perhaps it was because you were trying my patience."

"Pfft, liar."

"I never lie."

"Now you're lyin' twice."

Amidst the conversation, Kaiba had propped his elbows up on the table, his full attention focused towards Jounouchi, waiting for the moment that they would circle back to their prior conversation. Though reluctant, he acknowledged that it was his turn to do some of the talking, and took Jounouchi's pause as a moment to look up to the decorations, a sigh held back in his chest. His fingers steepled together.

"I had imagined that the reception would be something like this," said Kaiba. He heard Jounouchi's chair push out. "Minimalist, like this."

"Didja?"

"It had been in the plan."

"'The plan'," Jounouchi repeated. He had stood. Kaiba mimicked him, ready to be away from the unsettling gaze of the mannequins. "Ya didn't really ever tell me anythin' 'bout your plan."

"I told you plenty," Kaiba said. "You had said that you didn't care how we did anything, as long as it got done."

Jounouchi shrugged, his hands tucked into his pockets. They headed for the exit. "Maybe in the beginnin'. But I did start havin' a bunch of ideas after a while, 'specially since it was takin' a while."

"Good plans take time."

"They don't take a year," Jounouchi said. "Like, I knew you were bein' a perfectionist, but...I thought ya had jus'..." he stopped as they exited, the surrounding area now darkened by nighttime. The trolley bell rang as it neared.

"Just what?" A beat of silence. He stepped closer to Jounouchi. "Just what, Jounouchi?"

"I thought maybe ya were havin' second thoughts."

Kaiba scoffed. "Please. I told you from the outset that everything was going to take time. Plans like that don't come easy; it wasn't as if we were the kind of people that could jet off and elope."

"Woulda been easier."

"Perhaps," Kaiba shrugged. The trolley came to a stop in front of them. The pair walked on, reclaiming their former seats. The trolley departed. "But it would have done the relationship a disservice."

"Anymore than what actually happened?" Jounouchi asked. Whatever bitterness and contempt he held reared its head. His cheeks were taut, eyes and lips thinned. Kaiba imagined he was showing some restraint. "Ya didn't involve me in a damn thing. An' when I came lookin' for ya, excited t' tell ya the kind of ideas I had, you...you jus' weren't there! Ya hadn't been there for a while. Always busy with, ya know, whatever. I dunno. Work stuff."

Kaiba's breath hitched. The assault of Jounouchi's words had been anticipated as his tone crescendoed. He couldn't tell if the restraint reeled it in, or if there wasn't any fire behind the words anymore. He had probably spent a long time mulling over those words, every inflection shouted in front of a mirror until they it was burned into the synapses of his brain. That it fell flat, sounded defeated and tired, burned more than any shout could have.

Thousands of words, mostly platitudes and half-assed assurances, flooded into Kaiba's mind. He wanted to say that anything Jounouchi brought up about the wedding would have been more important than work, but his throat was locked. It would have been a lie.

"I always dealt with your stupid work stuff, ya know? I didn't try an' defeat ya there. Like, what kind of person would I have been t' think I was better than your work? I knew that I would always be in second place, an' that was okay."

"Until it wasn't."

"Heh. Yeah. 'Til it wasn't," Jounouchi said. "I guess I felt like the wedding may have been a little more important."

Kaiba’s chest pained. The confidence he had to say that the wedding would have been important stopped just short a full breath of air, fighting with ever moment that suggested otherwise. "You should have spoke up."

"I did." Kaiba shook his head. Jounouchi nodded with exaggeration. "Seto, I fuckin' did! I tried. I really tried, but ya weren't listenin'."

"Then you should have tried harder," Kaiba said. Jounouchi's hand flung up, grabbing tight to the railing, his nails curling against it. "I didn't like you because you were meek and folded to my every whim. If I wanted that in a partner, I would have been married a long time ago."

Jounouchi scoffed, opened his mouth, and then snapped it shut to look away, taking his turn to shake his head. His hand still clenched around the railing.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

"Don't 'nothing' me," Kaiba said. "Just say it. We're here to talk, so just say it."

"Why did I have t' try harder? Why was it jus' me? Why couldn't ya, I dunno, meet me halfway? It was a commitment between me  _and_ you. I figured that everythin' would be the same as when we made the damn ring." Jounouchi went to stand as the trolley slowed to a stop. They were deep into the forest, where the lights barely permeated the darkness surrounding them. Moonlight cut through the open windows, draping Jounouchi in strips of silver. Even though most of his face was darkened, Kaiba could see the glimmer of barely flecked tears. "Second stop."

Jounouchi ran out of the trolley, hurried, but Kaiba remained seated, not wanting to continue exploring this world. It was an excuse for the both of them to stop talking and, no matter how much he disliked doing so, it was far more enlightening than whatever other creation Jounouchi was about to show him.

But he stepped off the trolley, and it skittered away like a nervous animal as he followed Jounouchi through an open, wrought iron gate and down a long, cobbled pathway lined with bushes twice their height. Lanterns lit as they passed them by, dying out once they were left behind.

Kaiba adjusted his pace to match Jounouchi's, less leisured than normal, though he swayed as he walked. One hand was jammed in his pocket, the other up at his face, rubbing at his eyes before lowering so that he was biting at the thumbnail. Kaiba clicked his tongue, reaching out towards Jounouchi's wrist. He spit out the thumbnail and put his hand in his pocket.

The further they walked, the more erratic everything became. The bushes adjusted themselves, lowering gradually as if sheared to perfection, their dropping branches and leaves covering the ever changing cobblestone tiles, the pieces unable to decide how they should have been designed beneath. The path, itself, seemed to breath; expanding and constricting, leaving just enough room for them to walk through as they reached another gate. Familiar. Very familiar.

"The estate."

"Yep."

"You don't have to show me this. I do still live there." Kaiba deadpanned.

"Nah," Jounouchi pressed his hands to the gate, pushing it open. "I gotta show ya this. Trust me."

They walked a little closer, the front of the manor coming into view. At first glance, it didn't appear to have anything wrong with it. The same old manor. Same windows. Same front door. Same steps. But his attention was pulled to an impressive, blue brightness that plumed off of the roof in uneven, bulbous fractals. Every top corner of the building was missing, though they weren't crumbling. They were faint, faded and disappearing. After a moment, the image flickered. Like a hologram that wasn't loading properly.

Kaiba's brows furrowed. "I dunno what's happenin' to it, 'fore ya ask." Jounouchi said.

"Have you gone inside?"

"Nope," Jounouchi said. "It's got, like, a forcefield around it or somethin'. I've tried takin' it down, but it won't let me in. Watch."

Jounouchi approached the manor, palms up like in surrender. A gentle wave appeared once his hands settled against the invisible field, rippling up the circumference of the dome to reveal what it covered. His fingertips were able to slip though, though he grimaced as they did. Like the static, Kaiba thought, that wouldn't let him through before. "Think it's a glitch?"

"Unlikely," Kaiba replied. "I've had something similar happen in prior testing."

"Then...what's it mean?"

Kaiba sighed. "Nothing. None of this means anything."

"But I didn't make this. It jus' showed up," Jounouchi said. "Found it when I was ridin' around. Look, I know ya don't think so, but...I have a hard time believin' that things are jus' happenin' here an' they aren't supposed to mean anything."

Kaiba's jaw clenched. "Then what do you suppose it means then?"

Jounouchi shrugged. "I dunno. If it was jus' the house then it's me rememberin' the house. But if it isn't a glitch, and it's fallin' apart, maybe...maybe it's suppose to represent somethin'."

Stepping close to where Jounouchi still had his hands planted, Kaiba stepped forward, interested in seeing if he could get any closer. He prepared himself for the moment that he would touch the static and feel the icy chill press against his body, threatening to leave him frostbitten. One foot in front of the over. It never came.

Walking up the steps, Kaiba looked back to Jounouchi. The blond's hands had dropped away as he stared upwards, mouth agape, while the barrier slipped away. "How'd ya do that?"

Kaiba shrugged. “I didn’t.”

"Then...?"

"Perhaps it's because it's my house."

Jounouchi took careful steps across the lawn, looking over his shoulder every step, until he was hunkered at the bottom step.

"How close did you get before?"

"Not this close."

"Seems like the issue is resolved then." Kaiba eyes remained on Jounouchi as he pushed the double doors open. His hand displayed the inside, a flick of the wrist motioning for Jounouchi to follow him up. Jounouchi continued looking around the brunet as he ascended, peering off to one side and then the other, craning his neck and narrowing his eyes. Kaiba's hands landed on his hips, turning back to Jounouchi. "What are you doing?"

"Nothin', nothin'..."Jounouchi shook his head and stumbled back down the stairs.

"Then hurry up."

"Nah, I'm good out here."

"Jounouchi, it's just the house. Stop being a child."

Jounouchi's fists clenched, and he stormed up the stairs, grabbing Kaiba's shoulder and pointing into the dim-light foyer. In the center of the room, at the foot of the grand staircase, the inky creature sat, erect, fangs bared and tongue flicking about. A low growl echoed.

"It's back," Jounouchi said. "Did ya...not fix it?"

Kaiba sucked in a short breath. "I looked into it."

"And?"

"It didn't look like a glitch; there was nothing abnormal."

"So, what then?"

"You said this place cropped up on its own?" Kaiba asked. The pin-points of the eyes were following him as he crossed the threshold and stepped to the side. The creature remained unmoved.

"Yeah. Jus' found it like this..."

"Then it's part of the game. Part of your mind, likely. Maybe..." he wanted to shake his head, unsure if he was telling the truth or not. All of this was pure speculation. Grasping at straws. "Maybe this is what you need to defeat to wake up."

"But last time we...!"

"It fell," Kaiba recalled. "We didn't see it die. You didn't die from falling; you respawned."

Jounouchi shifted out from behind Kaiba, stepping through the threshold of the door. The creature jumped up, rearing back on its haunches. Jounouchi stumbled back into the wall, hands out.

"How do we beat it then?" Jounouchi asked.

Kaiba didn't want to say that he didn't know, but this wasn't a programmed monster with a random set of attributes. Moreover, they hadn't displayed any sort of special abilities beyond the capability of warping their surroundings which, for now, were plain. Stairs, several end tables, and an ornate chandelier. Making the creature fall into oblivion didn't work, it just came back. But a game was a game, ultimately. Which meant that it was beatable.

"Can you make a weapon?" He asked. Looking back to Jounouchi, seeing the blond terrified as the creatures neared, Kaiba frowned. "Jounouchi! Listen to me! Can you make a weapon of some sort?"

"I..."his hands were out, trying to conjure something. A few sparks flickered. "Fuck, what's it weak to?"

"What?"

"What's this thing weak to? Like...is it, water, or fire or what?"

"How should I know? I didn't program this."

"Okay, okay. Uh, weapon, how 'bout a—!"

The chance wasn't given. The creature lunged on Jounouchi as a sword flickered into existence, clanging on the floor by his feet. Instinct had Kaiba racing over, sliding by Jounouchi to grab for the sword. Jumping up, he swung it to back the monster away before he stabbed forward. The point of it dug into the thick, viscous skin of the monster. Kaiba was met with resistance as he tried to yank it back out, the tar-like seepage on its hide holding the sword like another hand. "Seto?"

"Don't just stand there!" Kaiba palmed the butt of the hilt, adjusting his grip on the sword to plunge it deeper into the creature. It bucked around, pained, trying to shake Kaiba's grip. The creature's tongue wrapped around the blade, attempting to push it out; the ring, still knotted to its tongue, struck the metal with a gentle 'clink'.

Jounouchi rounded the creature from the side, another sword appearing in his hand as he ran. He made a quick cut into its side. Purple liquid splattered out from the wound. The creature roared, and it rose to its back legs, lifting Kaiba several feet from the ground. He let go of the hilt, bracing for impact. The landing knocked the wind out of him, all thoughts and plans silenced.

With his eyes closed, he swore he saw the ceiling of the infirmary. Mokuba's face. Usami's.

" _...breathing...we need to..."_

Opening his eyes, Kaiba propped up on his elbows and surveyed the area. Still the manor foyer, with the creature roaring behind him. Rolling onto his back, he saw where Jounouchi stood toe to toe with the creature. The edge of his sword was covered in the black tar. A shield was strapped against his arm, held in front of him as he strafed to the side, positioning himself in front of Kaiba and swinging the sword as the creature tried to approach. It's paw swiped at Jounouchi, and the shield was up over his head. His knees buckled on impact. Wheeling backwards, Jounouchi rocked on his heels before finding his footing again. The creature jumped to reach him, shaking the chandelier when it landed.

They weren't swordsman. Jounouchi's frantic and misaimed swings proved that. He took whatever opening he had and barely dodged when lunged at. There wasn't much grace in Jounouchi's agility, though it was getting him out of harm's way. His body didn't seem to know where his legs were taking him, landing him on the floor more than once, the shield raised as the creature's tongue beat against it.

Kaiba climbed to his feet, feeling his ribs protest him. A single breath made his head spin. A single step caught air in his throat. The pain spotted his vision, stalling him. The creature had turned, staggering off to the side. More of its blood fell to the floor as it launched towards him.

An arm snaked around Kaiba's waist, the shield up just in time to push them both backwards. Jounouchi's grip tightened. "This ain't workin'. It keeps gettin' too close; I can't even swing."

Kaiba panted. "Then..." Something in chest had moved. His grit his teeth. "Then you need to make space."

"How?"

"I don’t know, I..."Kaiba’s breath escaped him a moment. "Give me a second to think."

"Get back then."

Another blow struck them, heavy. Kaiba pressed his lips to suppress a groan, his body pulled tighter into Jounouchi's grip, almost on instinct. He had to think to put his hands up and push away. As he did, his hand touched something sticky, pulling away to take a look at the dark red inhis palm. "It hit you." Kaiba said, absent.

"Yeah, once," Jounouchi detached from him. "M'alright."

Taking several steps back, Kaiba found a wall to support himself on. It hurt to think, every breath was a new torture, spreading up his arm and down his back. It was as if a rock had been laid on his chest. Jounouchi moved in front of him, swinging the sword madly at the biting beast. He was panting just as hard as Kaiba was, his face broken out in sweat. The side of his shirt was stained with a mixture of his and the creature's blood.

As the creature filled the space between them, Jounouchi swung downward, catching it in the maw, striking its teeth. It moved back, and Jounouchi stabbed into its mouth. The tongue wrapped around the sword. "Holy...fuckin' let go!"

The sword was tore from his hand and flung upwards, striking the chandelier. Crystals showered onto the floor. The rest of it swayed, the cables loosened.

"Make me a glaive!" Kaiba commanded.

"A what?"

"A spear, Jounouchi. With a curved head!"

The shield was raised again as the tongue tore through the air. Jounouchi looked back, his hand held out. A simple glaive with an oversized head dropped by Kaiba's feet. He leaned forward, regretting every movement, holding back every pained cry and he gripped the weapon and ran forward, stabbing at the creature. It backed away, thrashing its paws towards the blade.

"What are ya doing?"

"You'll see," Kaiba said, adjusting his breath to match each forward thrust of the glaive, lessening the pain. The creature continued to walk backwards, thrashing and biting at the blade.

"Clue me in there, genius! Maybe I can give ya hand." Jounouchi said,

"I need it beneath the chandelier."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to drop it on the monster."

Jounouchi looked up and back at Kaiba again, just in time to see a strong swing grab the broadside of the glaive's head, pushing Kaiba to turn against his will. He fell to the floor again, biting through his lip as the it felt like fire pulsed beneath his skin.

" _...no...take him...the headset..."_

Jounouchi held onto his arm, hoisting him upright. The shield was up again, taking the brunt of another assault. "Let me help ya there. Get up, c'mon."

"I'm fine," Kaiba lied. He forced himself up on his knees, tucking the shaft of the glaive beneath his arm to stabilise his shaking hand. He shimmied it up, until he could feel the end of it dig into his side.

As he rose, Jounouchi rose with him, staying in front of him as the creature batted at the blade. Kaiba launched off on foot, thrusting forward. The creature lurched back. Again, and again, even as he stumbled over his feet.

One more thrust, and he caught it through the cheek, feeling the hooked tip of the blade catching into the sticky hide. The creature roared, loud enough to shake the the remaining crystals on the chandelier, and bucked backwards to try and escape. It dragged a Kaiba by the heels, his body thrown forward.

"I gotcha!" Jounouchi grabbed the glaive between Kaiba's hands, pausing the movement as he pulled back against the beast, steadying Kaiba's hold. "Keep walkin'! Push it! We're almost there!"

The both of them dug their feet into the ground, struggling against the weight of the creature as they pushed. The pain gave way to adrenaline, Kaiba's eyes wavering on the sparkled light of the chandelier. Once the creature was beneath it, he snapped at Jounouchi: "Drop the chandelier!"

"Is this really gonna work?" The creature bobbed against the hold, pushing them back a few inches.

"Is this really the time to ask?"

Jounouchi looked up to the chandelier again, a question looming on parted lips, but he shook his head and stared at the piece. His hand lifted from the glaive and cut across the air. The cord snapped, and the chandelier flew down, its weight pressing the glass shards deep into the creature's body. It howled, short and sharp. Its fight stopped in an instant. As their hands released from the glaive, the creature's body flattened onto the floor. It's tar- like hide expanding outwards, seeping faster than the blood from its wounds, tracing into the cracks of the floor tiles and around the scattered crystals.

Kaiba's arms dropped by his side, muscles taut and heart beating in his wrists. Everything felt heavy, and he couldn't even his breathing anymore.

"Seto?" Jounouchi placed a hand his shoulder.

" _...if we take it off...I don't know..."_

He melted into Jounouchi touch, swaying towards him, knowing that he would be caught. They eased down onto their knees, still staring at the creature before them. It's body was nothing more than a shadow on the ground, fading out and away, leaving nothing but the chandelier to turn on its side.

"Do you feel anything?" Kaiba asked. "Like you're waking up?"

"Nah," Jounouchi said. "I mean, I dunno. I dunno what that's gonna feel like."

Amidst the rubble of the chandelier, and the stain that was once the creature, Kaiba saw something glinting. The ring. It hadn't disappeared along with the monster. "You're still here."

"Yeah. Guess that answers that." Letting go of Jounouchi, Kaiba slid over to the ring, scooping it out from between the crystals. "What's that? Loot drop?"

" _...take it off, now Doctor..."_

"A ring." Kaiba turned the piece over in his hand. On the end of it was the same broken shape of the ring, it's stone still missing, but it was attached to a small arm and, beyond that, had an opposite head.

Kneeling beside Kaiba, Jounouchi took it from his hand, raising it above them. "Looks...more like it's a key of some sort."

"A key?" Kaiba asked, confused. "Did you hit your head? It's a ring."

Jounouchi shot him an annoyed look. "On the end it's a ring, sure, whatever. But look," he held onto it from the opposite end, twisting it like he had jammed it into a lock. "It's a key. A weird one. Wonder to what? Somewhere in the house?"

"No. None of the locks look like this." Kaiba stole it back, thumb sliding over the edge of the ring, feeling the circle. "It's...it could be other door. In the hub world..."he paused, panting again. His hand touched to his wounded side. "It was locked, remember?"

"Yeah..." Jounouchi sidled close. "Hey, you a'right? Like, really okay?"

"I'm fine," Kaiba replied. "This is just a game. It should pass soon."

Jounouchi wrinkled brow said he wasn't convinced, but he didn't press the issue. He remained close, his arm reaching around Kaiba's back, holding onto his hip. Beneath the dull pulse of pain, something else swirled, pitting his stomach and warming his ears.

"We worked pretty good together back there," Jounouchi said. He was so close, speaking at a whisper. It had been such a long time since they had been this close to one another and, compared to the early morning dream, this felt more real. More right. Even if it was the exact thing with more control on his part. He could have moved away from Jounouchi, forced himself up onto wobbled feet and made his way to the opposite side of the room, or even to the outside to move on. But then he wouldn't have been able to smell Jounouchi's spiced musk, mixed with sweat and the faintest smell of copper.

"It was sufficient."

Jounouchi batted his arm. "It was good. Jus' admit it. Me an' you make a good team."

Kaiba smirked. "Perhaps."

" _Standby...removing in three..."_

A fresh wave of tightness sat against Kaiba's chest. His body fell forward, his weakened forearms barely able to support his weight. Jounouchi leaned with him, a hand on the small of his back. "Seto? What's wrong?"

" _Two..."_

" _Hurry up...nii-sama!..."_

Kaiba's hand clenched around the key. He didn't want to wake up yet.

"Take this," he said, shoving the key into Jounouchi's chest. It fell onto the floor. "I'm going to wake up in a moment."

"How do ya know that?"

"Mokuba's about to force me," Kaiba said. "Don't lose the key."

"Are ya coming back?" Jounouchi asked, and his hands shook Kaiba, grabbing at him and pulling him close.

" _One...waking..."_

"I—"

* * *

 

Kaiba's eyes snapped open, first met with the sight of Mokuba's worried face hovering over him. Attempting to move, as he tried in haste, was a mistake. His entire body felt like dead weight, the pain of the experience augmented by a tightness beneath his ribs. Something bright flashed in his eyes. He batted it away.

"Get that...out of my face..."his words were parsed, almost fragile in his own ears. Not nearly as commanding as he had hoped. Despite the fatigue, Kaiba forced himself upright, held steady as Mokuba slung arm over his shoulders.

"Don't. Seriously."

"I'm fine..."he said.

Closing his eyes, Kaiba struggled to keep even breath. A mask was placed against his mouth and nose. He tried to nudge the hand that held the mask away, but it only pressed a little deeper. "Nii-sama..."Mokuba chided, "deep breaths. C'mon."

"...why did you...pull me...?"

"Stop talking."

Kaiba shook his head, though his mind swam about. The pain in his chest began to subside. His breaths deepened. "No. Why...did you wake me?"

"You need to rest," Mokuba said. He pushed Kaiba back onto the bed. "We pulled the headset off you to wake you up. We need to make sure that didn't affect you also."

"Mokuba, no," the mask was ripped away, "answer me. Why did you wake me? We...we were close. We had a—,”

"I didn't have a choice," Mokuba said. His hands gripped onto his older brother's arm. Beneath the angered vice grip, Kaiba could feel the fingers twitching. One hand lifted away, grabbing the oxygen mask and replacing it. Before Mokuba’s hand could pull away, Kaiba covered it. "You were going to die if I didn't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So funny story. My husband (who is as big of a YGO nerd as me) decided that he needed to make Kaiba in Monster Hunter World, because he saw someone make Kaibaman. It turned out awesome. He then turns to me and asks: 
> 
> So what kind of weapon would Kaiba use? 
> 
> ....I honestly had no clue XD all this going on while writing the scene where he and Jou are fighting the creature like...well...? I have him using a spear atm...
> 
> Weird. 
> 
> Anyways, enough of my weirdness. 
> 
> Tell me what you think, and see ya next Tuesday!


	7. Under the Bludgeonings of Chance

Seto's head was bowed towards a lengthy printout of the night's brain scans, flipping through them with a disinterested glaze in his eyes. His face was still ghost white, dotted with pinkened flush on his cheeks, fading the longer he was conscious.

"Kaiba-san?"

Mokuba watched his chest. In and out. In and out. Heavy, at first, sucking in each breath like it was a Herculean effort and gradually easing down to an even, albeit threaded, sound. He continued to offer up the the oxygen mask despite being denied. Anything to make sure Seto was alright.

"Kaiba-san?" Usami asked. "Did you hear the question?"

Seto's eyes lulled up to the doctor before returning to the scans. "The prime minister? Abe Shinzō," he answered, and then displayed the scans to Usami. "These are my scans or Jounouchi's?"

"Jounouchi-san's. Recite the months backwards for me?" The doctor asked.

Seto grimaced. An odd chore. "December. November. October..."

"What's this for?" Mokuba asked, quiet, as Seto continued to recite.

"Memory and concentration," Usami replied. It made Mokuba bite back a laugh. His brother wasn't paying much attention to the doctor, at least not directly, and he suspected that Usami knew that by the secondary conversation. Seto had a way of holding his concentration in multiple places, across multiple people, without seeming to bat an eye at it.

But Mokuba couldn't help but want to berate him. This was not the time for questions, or even the curiosity that was lingering in Seto's eyes as he tried find answers in the sheets of paper he flicked back and forth. Eventually, he settled on laying them side by side at the foot of the bed.

"...January. How early did you begin scanning Jounouchi?"

"As soon as the headset went on," Usami replied. "Count backwards from 100, in sevens, please."

The disinterest in his eyes was lifting, just enough to seem to shake the exhaustion, but Mokuba could see him wearing it like another layer of clothes. He spared a moment to rub at his eye before bringing his finger back down to the scan, his nail sliding over several of the lines. "100-93-86-79-72," he held his hand out to Mokuba, "Mokuba, pen—65..."

Mokuba flinched, meeting Seto's eye before patting down his own pockets, producing a pen and handing it off. The scans were being marked as he continued to count backwards.

Folding his hands together, tight enough to dig his nails into his knuckles, Mokuba suppressed the anxiety that was crawling up his spine. He sat still through the testing, impatiently hoping for a positive result, and looked about the room and its plain walls, wondering how everything was so calm. How the other occupants of the room could be so stagnant, acting as if an emergency hadn't just happened in the last hour.

Heavy, bitter thoughts about the people around him and Seto scrambled into Mokuba's mind as he surveyed them.

Nakajima, sitting in the corner of the room, hadn't looked at either of his bosses since Mokuba had forced the headset into his hands, lest Seto get any bright ideas. He was probably worried about losing his job over a malfunction of the headset, and was tinkering away with the associated hardware.

Usami, sitting beside Seto and placidly going through the motions, acting as if all of this wasn't some half-thought out exploration into the unknown. He was probably hoping to hold onto such a high-profile client, and such an easy job. One patient, two is Seto counted.

Isono, situated at the foot of the bed with his hands clasped at his waist. He'd done his due diligence and jumped at the first sign of trouble with his employer. Mokuba was giving him a pass, this was out of the ordinary, but he wished the man would speak or share Mokuba's worry. There was nothing wrong with being outward about his feelings, he knew Isono wasn't cold. He supposed that it was Seto's demeanour keeping him more calm than anything—the servant miming the master.

And Jounouchi was still unconscious. Unbothered. Not even a rise in heart rate, a dip in blood pressure.

Turning a shoulder over to the blond, Mokuba couldn't help but simmer, uncomfortable at Jounouchi's relative well-being, so opposite of Seto's struggling. There hadn't been a single test that left the brunet in a better state than when he began.

And the sound he had heard come from Seto was overbearing. In his head, again and again. Just thinking of it made him sweat. He couldn't understand how everyone was so calm now. How all of them acted like nothing had happened, like all of this was normal. They had all been in the room and heard the moment Seto's breath stopped, sucked back in a tight squeal, teeth clenched as he writhed beneath Mokuba's grasp. They were all there to see his face turn ashen, lips tinged blue. He felt like had done everything he could to ensure his big brother's safety, made every demand he could to wake Seto up, while they all watched on. It was him that had come to the ultimate decision of pulling the headset off without knowing the consequences, and yet...

Mokuba's nails scratched deeper into the backs of his hands. The people around him weren't bad; they were just there. The true guilt laid on him, he felt. He was the one who had asked this of Seto, begged him practically, hoping he would be able to save Jounouchi from his purgatory.

Did that really mean risking Seto in the process?

"Mokuba?" His head popped up at the sound of his name, unaware of how much he had become lost in his thoughts. Seto was staring at him. "We're done. Things are fine."

"Fine?" Mokuba looked across to Usami, hoping for a better explanation. "How fine is fine?"

"Cognisant," the doctor replied. "Memory, problem solving and motor function are in tact. He's a little bit sleepy, but that's to be expected after the sedation."

Kaiba nodded. "As I said: things are fine. Now, I need you to go upstairs with Isono and get the other test results from my desk; I need to compare them to—"

"No." Mokuba straightened in his chair, his hands parting and settling on his knees. "No, nii-sama. You need to stop for tonight; you're still having trouble breathing."

"It's just paperwork,” Kaiba replied. “There are still things I need to discuss with Usami regarding the earlier abnormalities."

"They can wait until your body is caught up," Mokuba said. He moved over to the bed, collecting the scans and piling them into his arms. "You may be fine, but you need to sleep. You look exhausted."

"Hardly. I've been asleep for the past," he checked his phone, "three hours. My body is caught up just fine," Seto said, amused.

"I wouldn't call sedation sleep, Kaiba-san," Usami interjected. "Mokuba-kun is right. Your mind needs to rest after what you've experienced."

Seto rolled his eyes. "I'm fine. You said so yourself."

"So the fact that you stopped breathing doesn't mean anything?" Mokuba asked. As he reached the last of the scans, Seto gripped around them, but not tight. It hurt Mokuba to tear them away, knowing that his brother was too weak to put up afight, even in anger.

"Mokuba," Seto warned. "Don't do this."

Mokuba backed away with the scans. "You could have died! You basically did! Usami's just made sure you're not brain damaged! Is none of that registering with you?"

The scans were sat overtop the ring on the bureau. Seto's eyes flicked to them and back to Mokuba as he leaned forward, his elbows propped against his knees. "It did, and I'm trying to figure out why that happened."

"Figure it out? _Figure it out_? Figure what out? Why _Invictus_ is just deciding to kill you?" Mokuba pressed his hands against the side of the bed. "That's not something you can just play off as some kind of bug fix! You can't...you can't fix that."

"I assure you, I can," Seto said with a smirk. He slid to the edge of the bed, dropping his legs over the side. "That's why I need the rest of the paperwork. The diagnostics. Once I figure out why the relay is affecting one side and not the other, I can—"

Mokuba sat his hands on Seto's shoulders. "Listen to me, nii-sama. Stop. Just stop. For five seconds. Consider your health, seriously."

"I have," Seto said. He pushed Mokuba's hands from his shoulders.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"And?"

"And I still plan on testing again." Mokuba sighed, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Look, what's happened has happened. It was a failure. A catastrophic one, and I don't plan on jumping back into _Invictus_ tonight."

"But you are going back in? Eventually?" Twitching fingers dug into Mokuba's palms as he fought with the anger and worry, reaching its boiling point in his chest. Enough that he could feel himself fighting his own heaved, unsteady breaths. His vision wavered, fighting the fog of tears as he backed up. "When? Tomorrow night? In a week? When?"

Seto sighed. "When the anomaly is solved."

"Yeah? And when will you know it's solved? When you don't die?" Mokuba hissed, knowing he sounded harsh. He needed to sound harsh if Seto was going to listen to him. There were no plans on showing weakness in his cause.

"Mokuba—,"

"Oh, wait. I'm sorry. When you don't have a 'catastrophic failure'?" he asked with air quotes.

"That is enough," Seto said. "You will stop this."

"I'm not stopping until you answer me."

"I have. It's just not the answer you want to hear," Seto said. His words striking like a swift punch in the gut. "You asked me to do this, so I'm doing it. I'll be going back once the anomaly is solved."

"No," Mokuba murmured, voice quivering. He shook his head, doing his best to force the tears back and away. When he looked up, Seto was staring him down. "No. No you're not going back. This is done."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not going back," Mokuba said, planting his feet. "You're not working on _Invictus_ anymore. This project is being aborted."

"Mokuba, you don't have the authority—"

"I do! You said so yourself!" Mokuba barked, jamming his finger into his chest. "I asked you to do this, now I'm asking you to stop."

"All you asked was for me to help Jounouchi, but I was already alpha testing before you asked me anything," Seto said. He stood from the bed and, even wobbled on his feet, Mokuba felt small. "I will continue on this project with or without your request. Or your permission."

"Then you're not doing this for Jou?" Mokuba asked. His hands pressed to his brother's chest to urge him back to the bed, but Seto wasn't budging. "All this testing, a-all this..."

"Getting Jounouchi out is a byproduct," Seto replied, his line of sight flickering Jounouchi and back again. Mokuba's brows furrowed. "He's the perfect test subject."

Mokuba shook his head in disbelief. "It's more than that."

"It really isn't."

"Then why do you need the ring?" Mokuba asked, lifting his hands away. He took a precautionary step back. "And why did you get so afraid for him when you woke up yesterday?"

"I told you. The simulation is real, it—,"

"And why were you angry when I pulled you out today?" Mokuba continued. Another step back. Seto filled the space. "You said you were 'so close'. To what? What were you so close to? Was it, I dunno, getting him out?"

As upset as Mokuba was, as scared as he was for his brother's safety, he couldn't deny the excitement deep in his chest. The idea, from the moment Seto uttered those words, that maybe Jounouchi had a chance to wake up was hard to ignore.

Seto paused and looked off somewhere between Jounouchi and the wall. "I don't know what I was close to."

"Bullshit." The look, the trepidation, the pause in answer, all these things told Mokuba what he needed to know about Seto's mindset. "Don't lie to me, nii-sama. You were close to getting him out. You're doing this for him."

"I am doing this for the sake of the project and Jounouchi is—,"

"You're doing this for him!" Mokuba said overtop of Seto, locking eyes with him. "I know you still have feelings for him. You want him out, too. That's not a terrible thing; you don't have to lie to me about it. 'Cause guess what? I want him out, too."

Seto's eyes half lidded, no longer looking off at something that wasn't there, but appraising every movement in Mokuba. Tracing up from his feet until he reached a face twisted in a kaleidoscope of emotion, unable to contain himself or pick something to settle on, even as he begged himself not to show weakness to his older brother.

"Yet you want me to stop," Seto said.

Swallowing thickly, feeling the rawness begin to form in his throat, Mokuba took a final step back, touching the railings of Jounouchi's bed. "He doesn't deserve this; he's my friend and look what I've done to him. But...me asking you to risk yourself too, and you...and you just going in, again and again, even though this keeps happening I...," Seto was shaking his head, light enough to try and stop Mokuba from finishing a thought. He couldn't let Seto speak. He couldn't let Seto's arguments change his mind. "What's the damn point if you end up like him in the process?"

"That's not going to happen," Seto said.

"You can't be sure."

"I'm fairly confident."

"But not completely," Mokuba said. Meek, tired. He didn't want to yell anymore. His wrist rubbed at his eyes as he turned from his brother. A heavy sigh passed through his body. "I don't want to be the reason that both of you are outta my life. So abort this. Now."

A terse moment of silence, enough that he felt like Seto was searching for another lie. The thought was short lived, hearing the noise, a faint, almost inaudible noise that came from somewhere just beneath them. A grunt, discomforted and achy. Mokuba looked down at Jounouchi, eyes widening as he saw the slack in the blond's jaw.

"Jou?" Mokuba asked. He turned to call for Usami to come over, but saw that Seto had beaten him to it, motioning for the doctor to come around the bed. "Seto...?"

Side-stepping Mokuba, Seto reapproached the bed and laid both hands on the railing. His head cocked to the side while he observed Usami testing Jounouchi, placing the tip of a pen against his toes several times, pressing harder each time to see if there was any kind of reaction.

"Jou? You hear me?" Mokuba asked, leaning further over the bed and watching his face for any signs of movement. His jaw tightening; his cheeks twitching; a flutter of the eyes.

Beside him, the plastic railing creaked as Seto's hands clenched around it. He seemed to look anywhere but Jounouchi's face while Usami brushed his fingertips across his cheeks. "It seems like it may have been an involuntarily noise. He could have been responding to pain. To the voices. Some patients have a vague awareness. His consciousness is still low-level but this...this could be an improvement."

A nervous, almost shaken hand reached out and down, hovering over Jounouchi's scarred knuckles. The curve of Seto's nail, and no more, ran down on of the misshapen lines that traced downwards into the crease by his thumb. Jounouchi's fingers flinched, curling inward like a crab receding into its shell.

Seto snapped away, pivoting around and collecting the papers off the bureau. "Isono, please take the headset from Nakajima."

"Nii-sama?"

"I have to figure this out."

"No, nii-sama, you don't. Look, he's almost—,"

"Precisely why I have to figure it out, Mokuba." With the scans collected in his arms, and his headset near materialising in his hand while he reached for Jounouchi's, Seto swept out of the room the door slamming shut before Isono could reach it.

Mokuba sighed, collapsing into the chair behind him. "Don't follow him."

"Sir?"

"Just go have a car waiting; don't let him drive. Check on him in the morning."

"I had planned on it," Isono said, face softened, bowing his head to Mokuba before leaving out of the room.

The younger Kaiba slumped further into his seat, staring across at Jounouchi with a half-cocked grin on his face, still unsure whether to be angry or excited. "You really know how to rile him up; you don't even need to talk. Jeez, Jou. This is just..." he heaved another sigh, "don't let him hurt himself to help you. You hear me?"

* * *

 

Another sleepless night came and went, fighting with his mind and nearly succumbing to the throes of his dreams, awakened by a sudden jolt, a choke of oxygen cut away, spasming his weak body to wakefulness when he knew he needed it. If not for his mind, than his sore muscles and ribs. Save a few hours the day before, if the sedation didn't count, he hadn't really slept for two days.

It wouldn't have hurt to sleep. He knew that; he knew that it would have stopped the swelling headache behind his eyes, too. But sleep meant giving up on the leads he was developing from reading through all the collected data from the headsets. It meant wasting time that could have been spent figuring out two things: why he and Jounouchi were reacting differently—why Jounouchi was able to create in his world without Kaiba being present. That still didn't make any sense.

He didn't want go waste anymore time until he could reenter _Invictus_ , because as much as he was willing to just jump back in, as much as he wanted to keep feeling the sensation of Jounouchi against his skin, even if it was just in a dream, his conscious wouldn't let him. Not with Mokuba's quivered arguments so fresh on his mind.

To avoid nodding off, Kaiba did whatever came to mind. Played vapid, candy-pop music, kept a cup of coffee on hand, paced the length of the home office. The headset was on the entire time, a tablet in his hands, running through the code operated live, processing, cycling through several different command prompts, ready to activate before determining that he was still conscious.

Back to his notes. A scribble of different thoughts as he compared his headset readings to Jounouchi's. Compared his brain scans to Jounouchi's. They told him nothing.

By the end of the night, his notes were a series of arrows, bullet points and strike-outs as he wavered between theories, unable to come to any solid conclusion on what was causing the two different anomalies. There had to be a reason. There was always a reason.

His vision blurred. He checked his phone. No messages from Mokuba, to his surprise. 6:34 AM.

The night had passed without him noticing, and with nothing to show for it. He went into the bedroom, took a cold shower to wash away the last bits of sleep, and dressed before going back to the office to retrieve his briefcase. The tablet and headsets were settled inside it, as well as his slew of notes, all ready to be poured over when the opportunity arose.

Downstairs, he found Isono lingering in the foyer, hands tucked behind his back. He bowed. "Good morning, Seto-sama. Mokuba has asked me to take you in this morning."

"I see."

"On your leave." He walked a few paces ahead of Kaiba, opening both the front door and the car door. Kaiba slid in, face buried in his phone, thumbing through e-mails until Isono asked the expected question: "Are you feeling alright?"

"From last night?"

"In general."

Kaiba side-eyed his assistant. "You can tell Mokuba I'm fine. Or he can ask himself."

"I'm also concerned for you. It's not just the young Master," Isono replied. Kaiba slipped his phone into his pocket and took the tablet from his briefcase. "This project seems like it's taking its toll on you."

"It's just intensive."

"As labours of love always are."

"Love?" Kaiba asked, incredulous. He scrolled through the diagnostics of Jounouchi's headset for what felt like the ten thousandth time, but wasn't paying attention to it. He was seeing, feeling Jounouchi's hand curl beneath his, and all it took was a touch of his finger. "This isn't a labour of love. It's more a labour of insanity."

"One could argue they're one and the same," Isono said. Kaiba grinned.

"Sometimes." Leaning forward, he studied the beginning of the code even as the words began to blur together. "It's going to be like everything I've worked on. It's just going to take one detail and," Kaiba snapped his fingers, "it'll click."

He downturned to the screen again, squinting to clear the words up. "Sure it will. But starin' at a screen ain't gonna help ya figure anythin' out. Try talkin' to me about it. I'm here t' listen, ya know?"

Kaiba's head snapped up, ears burning at the sound of the voice he heard. "Isono?"

"I said: I'm here to listen," Isono repeated. "If it'll help, sir."

An offer that Isono had made over the years, and one that Kaiba had taken him up on more than occasion. He made the perfect listener, allowing his employer to ramble until he no longer needed to get a thought off his chest and had maybe even made a breakthrough.

But it wasn't only Isono that had made that sort of offer before, nor was it Isono who he had heard moments before. In spite of the sleeplessness, or perhaps because of it, Kaiba was sure Jounouchi had just spoken to him. A fluke, he hoped.

"There's not much to talk about," Kaiba said. His thumb dug into his eye to try and combat the pulsating headache. They needed to talk about something else. "Have we heard anything back from the police about the attack?"

"Not really," Isono replied, quickly following the conversation change. "They're still trying to figure out if it was an accident or an attack."

"That's ridiculous," Kaiba said. "Put pressure on the commissioner."

"I already have, sir," Isono replied. "They're keeping it open, but their investigation is stalled."

"What about our investigation?"

"Yielding better results," Isono said. "The camera around the corner from Mokuba's apartment caught the plates. The vehicle was stolen, it appears; it belonged to a woman the outskirts of the city."

"And you've spoken with her?"

"Yes. I doubt she had anything to do with it. She was very distraught to have learned about what her car was used for and sends her condolences." Kaiba gave a small hum of acknowledgment. Isono continued. "The car itself hasn't been found yet, but I alerted police if the plates come up again."

"What about the driver? Did a camera catch their face?" Kaiba asked.

Isono shook his head. "Not much. We've run what we gathered through facial recognition software, but it was only the bottom half a face. Male, maybe late thirties, early forties? Preliminary matches suggest he is a Domino resident."

"Then why is the police's investigation stalled?" He asked. "If we've gathered this much, then they must know the same details."

"I'm not entirely sure. I've shared everything with them, as hesitant as they are to take the outside help," Isono replied. "It seems that it has more to do with the fact that they don't believe Mokuba was the target."

Kaiba paused, lifting his head from the tablet and pressing his hand against the warm screen. "Meaning?"

He wasn't ignorant to what it may have meant, no matter how sleep deprived his mind was. The implication hung heavy in the air, and on a normal day, he might have kept it that way. But he needed to hear it. It might have made it sink deeper. Quieted his shaking disbelief. "That they think it was Jounouchi-san, instead. Mokuba was...happenstance."

It wasn't funny, but the laughter came out anyway. Hard, almost barked, heaving against his still sore ribs. It was a little manic, and he pressed his lips closed to curb it, but it still came in small spurts. Jounouchi? The target? That didn't sound right, who would target Jounouchi? Any risk to his person had came and went two years ago, and even then, Jounouchi had never been subject to as many threats, though he did have a few overzealous fans.

When the laughter left his body, Kaiba sat still, cold. His mind rattled with so many thoughts begging for his attention, and yet, none of them were loud enough to hear. He closed his eyes, and he wasn't in the car, but back in the infirmary, running his fingertip over Jounouchi's hand, feeling it curl beneath his. He wondered why he hadn't just set his entire hand over it instead. They were so close.

So close.

"Sir?"

Isono drew Kaiba away from the infirmary, and his eyes opened up. Tears flecked in the corners, quickly wiped away. They had arrived at KaibaCorp. tower. "So they're not taking priority on the case because it's Jounouchi instead?"

"It would seem that way."

"Idiots. Useless idiots," Kaiba hung his head. "Tell them that he takes just as much priority as Mokuba."

Isono blinked. "Sir?"

"You heard me," the car parked, and Kaiba packed his things away. "And get the commissioner in my office tomorrow. If they're going to be this idiotic, they're going to hear it from me."

"Of course, sir."

* * *

 

The sleeplessness was biting. Painful. Coffee wasn't touching it, and yet Kaiba refused to give into it. Anything important was completed, but he had Ebi-san delegate in person meetings to Mokuba. There no questions asked, not even through text, presuming that Mokuba thought that was still recovering from the night before. Never was Kaiba more thankful for his little brother's silent understanding, especially as it gave him time to fiddle with the headsets, but there was no pretending that Mokuba was still angry at him. Unlike most days, he received no flurry of random texts. No good morning visits. No spontaneous visits. If he did leave his office, Mokuba's door was closed.

By the time that he prepared to leave, Mokuba still hadn't surfaced, not even to tell him that he was leaving for the day, or that he would be visiting Jounouchi.

"He's around the building somewhere," Ebi-san told him, able to read his longing glance at Mokuba's door.

Somewhere. Anywhere but the executive level. Anywhere but having to look his older brother in the eye and try not to start another argument. "Did he say where?"

"No. Would you like me page him?"

Kaiba shook his head and pulled out his phone. "I'm leaving for the day," he said as he thumbed away at a text. Ebi-san murmured her good-byes before picking up a ringing phone and answering.

 

> _**Seto (¬_¬)** _
> 
> _Where are you? You haven't been upstairs all day._

Taking the elevator down to the seventh floor, Kaiba made plans to hook up the headset to Jounouchi and see if there was any different kind of diagnostics compared to his own start up codes. Maybe that would tell him something.

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - now**_
> 
> _Infirmary._

Kaiba frowned.

 

> _**Seto (¬_¬)** _
> 
> _I'm headed that way._

The reply was instantaneous.  

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - now**_
> 
> _Don't. Just go home._

They were a little more heated than Kaiba expected, but it wasn't going to deter him. He was going to play by Mokuba's wants for the moment. It should have been enough to relax him.

 

> _**Seto (¬_¬)** _
> 
> _I have to do a quick diagnostic. I don't have plans on entering_ Invictus _this evening._

Another quick reply. The elevator landed on the seventh floor, the doors sliding open.

 

> **〜** _ **(^**_ ∇ _ **^~)Mokuba - now**_
> 
> _Don't come down here. I mean it. :/_

Biting the inside of his cheek, Kaiba jammed his phone into his pocket, unwilling to read the influx of messages that were buzzing against his leg so fast that it almost felt like a phone call. It was too late. He was at the door, hand on the handle ready to push it open. Someone else did it for him, and he scowled, expecting Mokuba to barrel and stop him.

Instead, a buxom-blond stood before him, one hand on her hip, a wry smile spread over red-lined lips.

Mai.

Her arms crossed over her chest. "Surprised to see me?"

Surprise was an understatement. Kaiba's eyes widened as his vision swam somewhere between the exhaustion and disgust. He had to swallow an enraged stutter of shock as he took a backwards step. She wasn't really there, no. This was his imagination. An illusion. A hallucination conjured by his sleep deprived mind. First Jounouchi was torturing him with words. Now this.

"Mokuba told you not to come down," she said. "He was really trying. But he's right, you never listen. Why am I not surprised?"

His lips were sealed. There was no talking to a hallucination, not if Mokuba was in the room. He didn't need to succumb to this, not yet. Not until he got the readings.

Wordlessly, Kaiba nudged past Mai and forced himself into the room, looking at Jounouchi sparingly before rounding to the empty bed, brushing by Mokuba as he did. "You don't have to be so rude, nii-sama."

"I'm not being rude."

"Don't worry about it, Mokuba. I didn't expect a warm welcome," Mai said. She took sat down on an empty chair and scooted close to the bed. Her hand wrapped around Jounouchi's, lifting his arm to adjust the blanket beneath him. "I don't need to talk to Kaiba anyways, do I hun? I can talk to you instead. We can talk about him behind his back like we used to."

"Mai..."Mokuba chided.

Mai chortled. "I kid, I kid. I'm not as petty as some people."

Kaiba glanced over his shoulder, wary, watching as Mai's pushed Jounouchi's bangs out of his eyes. Was she a hallucination? She was touching Jounouchi. Talking to Mokuba. "I can hear you, you know."

"Good. I want you to."

Kaiba grit his teeth. "How are you here? I had you banned from the property."

Mokuba raised his hand. "Jou's here, nii-sama. She wanted to see him, so I gave her access."

"You didn't consult me first."

"Because you would have said no," Mokuba replied. "She's his friend, she has a right to him just like if he were in a hospital."

Kaiba snapped the briefcase open, pulling Jounouchi"s headset from it, hands clutching it tight as all of this dawned on him. Mai was real. She was really sitting there and really holding Jounouchi's hand. Playing with his hair, laughing and with him while she ignored Kaiba.

"Aw, I told Shizuka to give him a haircut before I got back," Mai said, plucking at the longer hairs in his bangs. "She didn't listen to me. Jou, you need a haircut. You can't tell her no or you'll start looking like a hobo."

Mokuba snickered. "She tried. He said he wanted to be rugged."

"Rugged?" Mai batted Jounouchi's chest. "Please. If she means barbarian, maybe. I swear, you need stop arguing with your sister."

"It's like breathing for them," Mokuba replied. He looked as Kaiba stood beside him, looming over top of Jounouchi with the headset in his hands. He had reached down, but hesitated just before putting his hand beneath Jounouchi's head. Mai drew her hand away from his bangs.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Testing."

A quick clench of his fist, and Kaiba scooped his hand beneath Jounouchi's head. His hair was knotted in the back but still soft. Warm. Warm enough that he didn't want to move his hand away or adjust. Just curl his fingers through the hairs and run through him, again, snapping the tangles, even the strands out to make Jounouchi more presentable only to have him mess them up again by raking his fingers through the mess. "Eh, I look presentable no matter what" he could hear Jounouchi say, vivid and loud in his ear. But his lips weren't moving.

"Nii-sama? Are you alright?" Mokuba asked, touching his elbow.

Kaiba blinked several times, unsure if he had become dazed in the moment or not. The headset was slipped on, and Jounouchi's head was rested back on the pillow before returning to the other bed. "I'm going to be monitoring him from home," Kaiba said. "See if there's something going on with his process that's different from mine."

He stepped over to the computer mainframe that was operating most of _Invictus_ , making the proper adjustments, before stopping at one of the prompts:

 _**Wired** _ _/wireless._

Wired was currently selected, because he hadn't authorised wireless testing yet. The thought dawned on him: if it was wireless, he could test it at home while he really slept. True parameters, really. How _Invictus_ was really meant to operate. That could have been the source of problem, too. He hadn’t been sleeping naturally. 

Wireless was selected, and he went back to the briefcase, packing it up. "Are you going to get some sleep?" Mokuba asked. "You could really use it."

"I am."

For once, he wasn't lying.

* * *

 

It was almost too early to be in bed. The sun had hardly went down by the time Kaiba laid down, lights off and headset on. Anticipation and interest had his heart beating, keeping his eyes open even though he had felt himself nodding off all day. No matter how tired he was, falling asleep had never been an easy task.

As he did feel himself drifting off, the sensation wasn't the same as in the infirmary. Turned on his side, waiting for the feeling of drifting into the simulation, wasn't quite the same. It felt like he was almost there, the bright light in his eyes, only to be awakened by his own adrenaline and confusion.

There was a chance that the headsets couldn't connect with the distance between them, even though he knew he had designed it to have a global span, uploaded onto the satellites servers.

It was finally apparent to him just how different the sensation was when he fell asleep. Instead of floating into the chair and landing gently, he dropped into the hub world, missing the chair all together and landing face-down.

"That...looked painful," Jounouchi said. Kaiba groaned, rolling onto his side and propping himself up on his elbows. Jounouchi sat against the middle door, legs pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped around them. "Ya alright?"

"Never better."

"Yeah?" Jounouchi chuckled. "Well, good. Because it took ya fuckin' long enough."

Kaiba stood, brushing his clothes off. "How long were you in here now?"

"Uh, like, I dunno. Another coupla hours."

That anomaly still wasn't solved, but he supposed it could wait. It might have been an unintentional feature, if he really couldn't solve it, something he could label 'single-player' maybe. Not that he wanted to think there was something he couldn't solve.

"Ya know, when you wake up, it was kinda cool lookin'," Jounouchi said. He hopped up from the door, hands jammed into his pant's pockets. "Ya faded away in like, little golden balls. Like fairy dust or somethin'. Scattered all over the floor. Sorta like the creature but not as bad?"

"So then we know what it'll look like when you wake up," Kaiba said.

Jounouchi looked to the ceiling, debating the thought, before nodding. "Guess your right. Hey, we're makin' progress."

"Barely."

"Beats a blank."

Kaiba shrugged. "Did you keep the key like I asked?"

Jounouchi rummaged deep in his pocket before producing it, hanging it from his ring finger for a second before sliding it off. "I tried testing it, too. Door wouldn't let me open it. Jus' kept makin' really annoyin' buzzing noises."

"Unsurprising. It's supposed to take two people," Kaiba said. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Jounouchi, glancing up at the purple light that was on over the door. "Looks like it's ready."

Jounouchi was eager to jam the key into the lock, twisting it several times until the door made a soft 'click' and pushing open on its own. Fog began to spill out of the door, thick enough that they couldn't see beyond the first steps into the room.

"Woah, uh...is...is it done?"

"It should be."

"Ya sure?" Jounouchi took a step forward, the fog drifting away from his body. He jumped back as a hollow moan came from the room. "Oh no. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not doin' this. This shit is haunted."

"It's not haunted."

"How the hell do ya know? You seein' somethin' I ain't?"

Kaiba sighed. "It's supposed to be a place that players can build together. It likely is a blank slate. Fog of war," he explained, and reached his hand out, watching it push out of the way. Another moan, not unlike Jounouchi's from the night before. He wondered if it was his mind impressing upon the place.

"I still say it's haunted."

"Then make a ward," Kaiba suggested. There had to be some way to combat Jounouchi's fears. "You're going in. You have to."

"Y-yeah," Jounouchi sighed. He bit his lip as he sucked in a deep breath, holding it in. "It's the only way I'm going to get out, maybe. But maybe we can...like...beat more of those monsters in my head. On my side, ya know? That's a way to win, too, I bet. That's how ya win games..."

Jounouchi's rambling became soft and unfocused. He wasn't speaking to Kaiba directly, just trying to psyche himself up. Or down. The executive wasn't really sure which way it was going as he meandered through a thousand different thoughts. But he wasn't going to interrupt Jounouchi—he'd been with him while he fought his ghostly fears before. Speaking only prolonged the experience. Instead, he recalled just how tightly Jounouchi would hold his hand, until he almost couldn't feel his fingertips.

Kaiba reached out and grabbed Jounouchi's hand, stopping him mid-ramble.

"Shut up, let's go," he ordered. Jounouchi looked down at their hands, a small grin breaking onto his face.

"Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with the argument Kaiba and Mokuba, there were so many different things I wanted said, but I like it. Spent probably an unhealthy amount of time changing everything on it though. 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. See ya next Tuesday!


	8. Our Heads are Bloody, but Unbowed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter brought to you by ‘Stand By Me’. The Florence + the Machine version.

For each step they walked, the path around them opened and the fog spread, leaving moist droplets on their skin and dampening their clothes to their bodies. The floor spread outwards from the toe of each shoe, ink blots in opposing designs fighting with each other. Steel diamond pattern coming out from beneath Kaiba's, sturdy beneath the heel of his shoe; soft, uneven cobblestone bled from beneath Jounouchi's, and he angled his foot to step on the space of every odd stone, avoiding the cracks. He watched it with wondered curiosity, like the stain glass shards of his room before. The further they walked, the more he hopped around the spaces, wavering and jumping away whenever he stumbled too close to Kaiba's side.

But their hands never parted.

Jounouchi's hold was a vice-grip, shifting only whenever he began to twist about in an odd directions. At one point the tips of his fingers danced up Kaiba's palm and back down again, sliding into the spaces between Kaiba's fingers, interlocking. The executive didn't move to accommodate Jounouchi, but he didn't fight him either, because fighting him would have meant not feeling the balmy heat, callused ridges, rough edges as it brushed along his skin. It felt different from before—different from grabbing hands and running away from monsters, dangling in peril as they fought over life and death like it was something that happened day by day.

They just walked. Slow, steady, aimless. As long as it was forward.

"What are we lookin' for?" Jounouchi asked.

"Nothing in specific."

"So...this is jus' like the other places?" Jounouchi looked over his shoulder and down at the path that they had carved through the fog. Walls had cropped up around them, tight but manoeuvrable. "Make what ya want, 'cept we both got the power?"

"Theoretically."

"What's the catch?"

"You're the first person, other than me, to be in here," Kaiba said.

Jounouchi nodded, slowly, eyeing Kaiba from the side. "Should I be grateful?"

"Depends," Kaiba asked. "Do you feel grateful?"

"When I get out maybe."

"Only then?"

"Yup." Jounouchi had steadied out his gait, and he swung both their arms gently, bobbing them each way. Kaiba didn't imagine it was purposeful.

"I suppose then you'll owe me when you get out."

"Owe ya? Pfft, owe ya what?" Jounouchi scoffed. "What could I possibly have that you would want, eh? Ain't like I kept nothin'. Pretty sure ya still got all of my shit."

"Not me. Mokuba."

The swinging stopped as Jounouchi filled the space between them. "Well, yeah, I didn't figure. He prolly mentioned somethin' t' me at some point. Why would ya want it...?" His words trailed off, but his hand never strayed, their shoulders brushing one another. "Anyways, what would I owe ya if this thing wakes me up?"

"Do you want me to answer?" Kaiba asked, mirthful.

Jounouchi's nose curled. "Not if ya got somethin' sick in mind."

"Sounds as if that's you, pup."

Jounouchi stopped walking, their arms stretched to length as Kaiba continued ahead. His fingers curled to hook onto the ends of Kaiba's. "Yeah? Ya think I'd think you're that much of a prick?"

"It crossed my mind."

A short breath escaped Jounouchi. "You're a selfish asshole, an' you've come up with some doozies in the past, a'right? So...jus' tell me what ya want. _If_ ya really want somethin' at all."

Their fingers pulled at maximum strength, though it didn't seem like much. The tension weighed between them, perfectly measured, with neither tipping the balance. It begged to know who would let go first.

"You're being serious?"

"If you are." Jounouchi shrugged. "Maybe you're right; maybe I do owe ya somethin' if this works."

"Tell me that again when you're awake."

Jounouchi's brows furrowed. "What? That I owe ya somethin'?"

"No. That I'm right."

"That's all ya want?" Jounouchi said, rolling his eyes. "Me t' buff your ego? Not gonna ask me t' kiss your ass? Shine the car for a month? Play secretary—?"

"—and drive Ebi insane—,"

"—play housemaid? Do the laundry an' the dishes?—"

"—you never did those before—"

"Nothin' like that?"

A rueful smile ached at Kaiba's cheeks. "You think I want to demean you?"

Jounouchi's fingers released from the lock, but only so he could move closer and settle his hand on Kaiba's shoulder. As he did, the fog began to burn away, a bright wash of sunshine searing Kaiba's back from the mouth of a tunnel several paces behind them. It began to reveal the world around them. A cave with grey, rounded walls and smooth, wetted limestone beneath their feet, the mismatched steel and cobblestone bleeding away with the wash the rivulets of a stream, washing behind them. Dripping echoed, the sound of a heartbeat followed.

"I...I dunno. Can't say how ya feel 'bout me, or what ya'd want to do to me, after all this time. Ya ain't really been the best at ownin' up t' your feelin's; don't see that changing' now." Jounouchi replied, patting Kaiba's shoulder as he walked towards the mouth of the cave. "Can't say I remember if I know how t' get them outta ya, either."

Another heartbeat between the footsteps. His fingers twitched, aching from their prolonged hold and begging to be touching it again. Feeling the fingers curl beneath his touch again.

"You do," Kaiba said. Loud, clear. No hesitation, echoed off the walls for good measure. Jounouchi stopped at the entrance, profile haloed in light, and turned an ear towards him, "you still know how."

"Yeah?"

"You don't unlearn something like that, much as I might want you to," Kaiba said, swallowing the too loud heartbeat as he stepped closer to the entrance. "I'd be satisfied with you just admitting that I was right."

Jounouchi snorted. "We'll see; ain't gotten there yet."

Kaiba approached the entrance that gave way to a far stretch of tall sequoia trees, thick and dense, with wild grasses sprouted to their knees. Jounouchi trekked forward, his hands held out above the grasses, pushing them to the side with gliding fingertips. Wildlife ran through, bolting at the the disturbance of the pair passing through, ducking between the grasses in zigzags while they meandered silently between the trees.

Kaiba kept his eyes cast forward and his path straight, seeing the outline of a dilapidated building far in the distance, occasionally looking downwards and taking care around the heavy tree roots snaking along their path. He also took note of the uneven patches of dirt that revealed glints of metal beneath their feet. Jounouchi, meanwhile, looked upward, weaving through the tree line and touching every tree in arm's length as he searched the pinhole treetops, catching large birds flying overhead. Their silent progress came to an end when Jounouchi tripped over a thick root, disappearing in a thicket of bushes and cursing, colourful and loud. Flocks of birds darted from the trees.

Kaiba kept walking. "Don't mind me, jus' fallin' over here!" Jounouchi called.

"I won't," Kaiba replied, slowing his pace.

"Not gonna wonder if I'm alright?"

"You're still talking aren't you?"

"Yeah, and?" Jounouchi grunted, fighting with the thicket of bushes as thorns snagged every inch of fabric, barely loosened in time to be caught again. He pulled forward, yanking his jacket off to try and free himself.

Kaiba shook his head, and reached his hand out, making quick cutting motions to sheer away at the branches and leaves that ensnared the blond. Jounouchi watched in surprise, scampering out on all fours and sitting back on his heels as Kaiba flattened the bush altogether, Jounouchi's jacket laying where the bush once occupied. "That...uh...yeah, we can do that shit..."

Reaching his hand out, he focused on the jacket, wiggling his fingers to make it dissipate on the spot, rematerializing on his person and marvelling at it, adjusting the cuffs of the sleeves and pulling on the hem to yank it down just a little further. His hand settled on his shirt, adjusting the colour of it, fading from an off-white to a dark blue and, with another flick of the wrist, to a bright green. "So...if I can change it, can you?"

Kaiba snapped his fingers, shifting Jounouchi's outfit from a laid back t-shirt and jeans to a crimson button up and black dress pants. Looking himself over, frowning, Jounouchi looked up to Kaiba and held out his hand and changed the shades of black in his turtle neck and slacks to his familiar white suit. Instinct had Kaiba adjusting the cuffs, poking at the cuff links and changing the design where Jounouchi's memory had failed him on the design. They were close, and the rest of the suit had no flaw. He wondered if Jounouchi always remembered how it looked and felt.

"How much control do I got over you?" Jounouchi asked. "Jus' the clothes or...?"

"We are autonomous," Kaiba explained. "We control ourselves, and one player has no way of manipulating another player. Just the items, the environment, any actions that they need to perform; I'd made sure to put a lock on that bit early on."

"Yeah,...put somethin' that free roamin' in the hands of people an' they'll do all sorts of crazy things to one another," Jounouchi trailed off. He quickly moved to another topic. "So how does this, like, work with two different people? Who's makin' this world right now? Me or you?"

"Likely a subconscious thing between both of us. Finding an even ground that we might both be interested in seeing or could possibly agree on and locking it in place so we have a place to stand. Constant change would be a risk to both of us," Kaiba said. Another snap of the fingers and he changed his outfit back to the turtleneck, more comfortable. "Take your city, for example. It's generating parts of itself without your knowledge, and you're stumbling upon them. The same goes here. It's filling in blank spaces that we aren't manipulating with things that _might_ make sense."

"Huh...weird," Jounouchi tucked his hands in his pockets, and Kaiba couldn't help but grin at how he didn't seem to care about the nice clothes Kaiba had placed him in. "Wonder how much of this is the game an' how much of this is the dream."

Kaiba sighed. If they kept talking about this, they were going to go in circles. "Consider them one and the same."

"Are we...like, havin' the same dream?"

A sigh. So many questions. “No. But it may be integrating our dreams together. Look," he knelt down beside Jounouchi, flicking his wrist to push clumps of dirt out of the reveal to the expanse of sheeted metal covered in intricate, etched designs. Between the pieces there were cracks just wide enough that they were able to see a lengthy darkness that traveled far beneath their feet.

A burst of light pulsed through the designs in the metal, shooting ahead of them and lasting only a moment before cycling through.

"Well, if I know a video game, that's showin' us where t' go."

"As if the straight path wasn't clear?" Kaiba asked, standing again. "There's a structure up ahead. It likely wants us there."

Jounouchi stayed hunched, hands hovering over the revealed metal and brushing more of the dirt out the way. "Wonder what all this is for," he said as he stood, continuing to flick large clumps of dirt out of the way as they continued down the path. "Ya know? Why somethin' mechanical in a forest? Ain't nothin' else futuristic here."

"That we can see."

Jounouchi jogged ahead, stopping and looking at the bushes and the grasses, plucking their leaves off and inspecting them. He investigated the trees, knocking at the wood and pulling at the bark, crumbling it in his hand. When Kaiba would catch up and pass by, he was shaking his head. "Jus' the floor."

There wasn't a definite answer that Kaiba had come up with, taking in the remainder of the path, the rocks, the sky. Beyond the floor, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the world stretched far and wide. Hints of the world cropping up just beyond the forest, building and stretching the further they walked.

Reaching the clearing of the building, the trees had begun to change. They were shortened and bending towards one another, creating a ceiling and darkening the space that covered the abandoned, crumbling edifice. It was covered with thick vines that pulsed the same bright light as the floor, and while it seemed like it was made of a dulled alabaster, the closer they came to it, the more it became apparent that it was less organic and more mechanised, with the intricate design from the floor etched onto the walls.

"Temple?" Jounouchi asked, tentatively walking up the front steps.

"That would be my guess."

"So there's prolly a mission inside," he said, jumping two steps at a time, to the top. The metal doors were over twice their height, covered in the same thick vines. It was sealed tightly closed, no handles or slots suggesting it could be opened. Inlaid on each side of the door was the imprint of a hand, and Jounouchi pressed his palms into them when he didn't find a handle. When that did work, he tried to pry it open at the crack. He quickly shifted to pushing his shoulder into it, feeling it inch along but not do much else. "C'mon, ya stupid door. Okay...maybe..."he rubbed his hands together before pressing his hands to the indents again and pushing. "Do I gotta know the magic words? Whaddya need? Open sesame?"

Jounouchi's hands fell away, and he looked over as Kaiba stepped to his right, inspecting the door. His hands pressed to the indents, but it didn't budge. Though his fingers felt uneven in the crevices on the left side. His left hand dropped away. "Put your hand there."

"Already did that. It don't work."

"Just do it, Jounouchi."

A heavy sigh, and Jounouchi placed his palm in the indent. The door began to brighten, the vines receding away from it. The door began to open up, inwards. Kaiba stepped inside the dim hall that lead towards a dais in the centre room, a spotlight shining on a pedestal. "How'd ya figure that out?"

"Two people. Two hands."

Jounouchi smiled. "Doin' this together, eh? Guess that's how we've been doin' it so far..."

Kaiba went ahead, shaking his head. Of course they were doing this together; how else were they getting through things? How else had they taken down a monster together? Everything in this world, he suspected, was going to take two people to deal with. It was overcoming the differences between them that would be the most difficult. Especially with no guarantee that Jounouchi would even recover. What happened if they reached the end and Jounouchi didn't regain consciousness? Would they keep doing this until they figured something out, or did he just leave Jounouchi comatose?

They walked up onto the dais standing over the pedestal. On it was single, plain metal box, rusted and dented, with a plethora of wire sprouting from it and bleeding into the vines, pulsing the same as the floor that led them to the temple. It had a simple lock, with the same circular keyhole as the door.

Without even guessing, Jounouchi pulled the key out of his pocket and turned it until the box make a 'click'. The lid popped open, showing a small, black orb in laid on a velvet cushion. Before either of them could reach for it, the lights in the temple went out and, suddenly, he felt all of Jounouchi's warmth press against his side and embrace him. A small raise in his heart beat, swallowed back down as he pried Jounouchi away.

A hologram flashed up from the box, a topographical map shown to them with small points lit up in several different places; one on tops of mountain; another nestled in a deep ridge of the landscape; the others seemed to be in flattened areas, though they were scattered fair and wide.

"World map?" Jounouchi asked. Tentatively, he reached out to touch it, his fingers sliding through the hologram and pinching one of the small lights. A line was drawn from a central location towards the light. "These must be objectives or somethin'. I wonder what we're—"

A deep noise rumbled in the room, chunks of ceiling falling around them. Instinctively, Jounouchi formed a shield and held it over their heads as his arm swooped upwards.

 

" _So long has the ring awaited_

_To be returned to its proper place_

_But without the six pieces of stone_

_You will not leave this space_

 

" _Scattered across the land you'll find_

_The pieces in decay_

_But maybe with a little mind_

_The truth will be in less disarray_

 

" _Trek, dear travellers, far and wide_

_And remember all your strength_

_It takes not one to turn the tide_

_But two to go the length_

 

" _The journey for the pieces six,_

_Will leave you more than battered_

_And not only will you find the fix_

_But something more that matters"_

 

"A...prophecy?" Jounouchi asked.

"With terrible rhymes," Kaiba added. "But it seems clear enough."

"Yeah, I think I get it. More workin' together to find the six pieces...pieces of what? This?" Jounouchi asked, and he turned the key over to look at the ring with its bent insets. The gem was still missing. "If it's talkin' 'bout these pieces, those are gonna be hard to find. They'll be super tiny."

Kaiba almost wished it wasn't the case, but at least he knew that the ring was important from the first moment that he saw it. Though, he did recall it popping up in his dreams before he had even tested _Invictus_ on Jounouchi, which had him worry if this was more him, or Jounouchi, influencing it. Maybe it was both. The ring had plenty of significant between them.

"We'll have a map. That'll get us close enough," Kaiba said. He reached into the box and took out the black orb. The map disappeared beneath his palm, as he flicked a button. Intrigued, his thumb ran over a series of buttons on the orb. One of them spawned the map again. Another, as he flicked it, showed the faded outline of the gemstone that had once been in the inset of the ring. It was split into six different segments, all of them dimmed out. Another button began playing the prophecy again, just in case they needed it, Kaiba supposed. The last button had a timer with the seconds ticking down.

_3hr 42m 53s..._

_52s..._

_51s..._

"What's that?" Jounouchi asked.

"I'm not sure. It doesn’t say."

"Can't be how long we got t' complete the game, can it? It's not a lot of time." Jounouchi didn’t give Kaiba any time to answer. "Might as well get movin' either way, jus' in case. Hurry on to one of the little dots? Pieces, I guess?"

Kaiba kept looking over it as they walked out of the temple, the doors closing behind them. As they did, the vines on the temple began to shrivel up and turn to ash. The walls collapsing inwards, sending out a sudden spray of dust and chunks of rubble. Jounouchi raised the shield above their heads again, both of them stumbled forward, tripping over one another's feet. Kaiba's arm shooting out to grab the back of Jounouchi's shirt, yanking him off to the side.

They both ended up falling forward, toppling over one another and gasping out in surprise as they became a twist of legs and arms on the ground, with Jounouchi's arm draped over his back. Along the way down, the orb popped out of Kaiba's hand, rolling away until it hit one of the remaining pieces of the temple. Neither moved until the last of the rumbling stopped and the dust began to settle.

Jounouchi picked himself up, sitting upright and pulling Kaiba up by the wrist. "Ya alright, Seto?"

"Fine." He brushed off his shirt, pulling away from Jounouchi. "You did that, didn’t you?"

"Nah. That seemed more like your kinda dramatics there."

Kaiba frowned. "No it isn't."

"No? When's the last time ya jumped outta a plane? Or did the jet pack nonsense?" Jounouchi asked.

A small 'hmph' came from Kaiba as he stood, holding his hand out to help Jounouchi up. The blond looked at it for a second before grasping it an yanking himself up. "Thanks."

"Are you alright?" Kaiba asked. He made a swift motion to fix a tear that had formed in Jounouchi's sleeve as he stood.

"Yeah. Landed on you mostly," he replied, and pulled on the sleeve to see where it mended. He turned to say something to Kaiba, only to find that he had went and retrieved the orb, the map displayed again. "You're still all bones, ya know. You really should eat more."

"I'm still eating just fine." Kaiba was studying the map, pinching his fingers around the shining markers and enlarging the spaces. He flinched when Jounouchi poked him in the ribs.

"Yeah, an' skippin' meals at work still too, huh?" Silence. Jounouchi grinned. "I still remember pickin' up take-out an' bringin' it to the office for ya. Ya always had me worried you were gonna get sick, ya know?"

Kaiba shrugged. "And as I always told you: that will never happen."

"Yeah, I'll take the workaholic's word for it," Jounouchi scoffed. "I was gonna worry 'bout ya no matter what."

They had begun to walk the perimeter of the trees that curled around the now destroyed temple, all of them tightly knit with no tangible path to be made out. As his hand rested against the trees, Kaiba noted that they were too flat and smooth to be trees, even if it displayed small gaps between the trunks. Conjuring a short blade, he stuck it into a space between the tree, expecting to hit air. Instead, it dug into the surface, a small crack forming beneath the tip of the blade.

"What the—?" Jounouchi leaned in close, rubbing his thumb on the crack. "A mirror?"

"Or some kind of crystal display."

"Like a TV?"

Kaiba pulled the knife out and slammed it into the hole again, watching as the small crack began to spread across the glass, the image of the trees flickering. A third strike, and the sound of crackling glass became pronounced, spread around them.

Jounouchi took the initiative, nudging Kaiba aside and pressing his foot to the knife marks. He pulled his foot back, winding up and as kicking the glass as hard as he could. Pieces of the screen began to wobble and fall out of place. For the third time, Jounouchi sidled up beside Kaiba, the shield was up over their heads. Glass hit it in small dins, rolling off to the side.

The image of the trees had gone grey and left them with a translucent panel, revealing the world outside the trees. A vast expanse of field painted in shades of gold and green, the tall grasses blowing in the wind. Far in the distance was a city skyline, the building in varying states of dilapidation, large bites taken out of the sides of the skyscrapers, tops torn away, scaffolding visible as panels hung from the sides. Plant-life had overtaken the buildings, moss and roots crawling up the sides and reclaiming huge broken pieces.

Jounouchi stepped over the broken glass and out towards the field, his face falling. "Looks like it's all dead here. Somethin' musta happened...grass is takin' over. Lookit all this," his hand ran through tall grasses, plucking off the tops. "So crazy."

"Its just dystopic," Kaiba said, dematerialising the knife. He pulled the orb back out, displaying the map, finding a small arrow showing their position on the map. The closest dot was selected, with a line drawing the quickest path. They both began to walk across the wide field. "It's a decent setting. Explains the mix of us. Nature and technology."

"Ya think 'nature' when you think of me?"

Kaiba raised a brow. "Well, I wouldn't call you 'woodsy'. But," he shrugged. "Maybe."

"Maybe you're jus' thinkin' of me _au naturale_ ," Jounouchi snickered.

Kaiba suppressed a sigh, but felt a smile threatening on his lips. As they kept walking, Jounouchi kept twisting and turning in the tall grass, sending animals scurrying away and almost chasing them to get a good look at them. As he reached far into the distance, sliding part way down an incline, Kaiba couldn't help but admire him.

He was grateful that Jounouchi hadn't changed from the button up and slacks. They were tighter on him than his usual baggy attire, and in the waning sunlight, Kaiba could make out every dip and curl of his body. From the way his hips rocked about and his shoulders slumped when taking just a few seconds to stand still. Slipping down the incline, Kaiba slid down to where Jounouchi was squatted on the ground, his hands held out in front of him, thumbs and forefingers in the shape of an 'L' and framing around the skyline. "What are you doing?"

"Takin' a picture. So I can remember it when I wake up."

"If you remember it when you wake up."

Jounouchi stood up, one hand slipped into his pocket. "Ya don't think I will?"

"I have no idea," Kaiba replied. He went back to consulting the map and Jounouchi looked down, kicking a rock. His lips twitched. "I remember these dreams; I don't know if you will because of how you are right now. There's no telling."

"Right..." Jounouchi turned away, clearing his throat. "So, we gettin' close to one of the pieces?"

Kaiba nodded, showing Jounouchi the map as they reached the outskirts of the city; the grass had slowly turned to cracked asphalt, tufts of dead weeds poking out from them. The map disappeared into the orb as Kaiba stuck it in his pocket. "It's in the centre of the city. Shouldn't be much further."

They walked several paces ahead, following a long, wide street for some time, stepping over the abundance of large vines and roots that had taken their place along the streets and sidewalks. They seemed to consume the remnants of cars and street signs. Moss and grass made use of the fallen pieces of buildings, turning them into small hills. When Jounouchi would stray, peering in the busted out windows of buildings, Kaiba would grab him and put him back on the correct path. Hewould gripe, but before Jounouchi began to go off on a tangent about nothing, rambling with a giddy excitement, making passing commentary about their surroundings.

Kaiba would give him the indication that he was listening, though stayed relatively silent, more amused to watch Jounouchi enjoy himself in the deadened place, making a playground out of the different terrain, hopping from one car to the next. At one point he was poised in a balancing act across a thick root that spread from one car to the next, wobbling across it and laughing the entire time.

Every so often, the map was consulted, zoomed in as far as it was able, down to the cross-sections of the streets, to help them on their way. He made them turn down a side road, pointing ahead where, far in the distance, the road dipped into an underpass.

The longer they walked, the darker in became. The sun sank low into the horizon and blanketed the world in a deep navy, with clusters of clouds hanging over their heads. Sharp winds blew through in bursts, cutting to the bone and knocking the air out of the pair. A snap of the fingers, and Kaiba felt his wool suit-jacket materialise. Looking over, Jounouchi had done the same, fighting with the zipper on on a wind-breaker.

"Don't ya think it's weird?" Jounouchi asked as he won the battle against the zipper.

"What's weird?"

"That were chasin' down the pieces of the ring? That," he said, pointing to Kaiba, "that mean's somethin'. I know it does." Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Ya can't tell me that it don't, 'cause I heard somethin' weird not that long ago."

"Did you now?" He asked, disinterested, figuring Jounouchi was rambling again.

"Yeah. While I was waitin' for ya, I swear that I heard Shi-chan say somethin' 'bout the ring. Askin' me if I remembered it. If it still fit."

Kaiba stopped in his tracks, tucking the map away and glancing over at Jounouchi with wide eyes. "You heard that?"

"Yeah, I—"

He advanced on Jounouchi, grabbing his shoulders. "You heard that? What else did you hear?"

"Huh? I dunno. I heard Shi-chan a few times. Maybe Moki once or twice. He said...he said not to let ya get hurt, I think," Jounouchi said, his finger tapping at his chin. "There was someone else I think...maybe..."

Kaiba's grip tightened on Jounouchi's shoulders, having to stop himself from shaking the blond senseless. "You've been hearing things and you didn't tell me!"

"Why would I? They're jus' imaginations. Gets fuckin' lonely in here." Jounouchi brought his hands up to Kaiba's wrists and squeezed tight. Kaiba pushed him back, heels digging into the ground and teeth bared. "Woah, what the hell's the matter?"

"Those voices are real, you idiot!"

Jounouchi blinked. "Huh?"

"Those are real voices! Shizuka really said that to you; Mokuba's been visiting you daily and talking to you! You—you—"

Everything came loose at once, and Kaiba threw his hands away from Jounouchi, clenching his fists to stop himself from doing something reckless. The anger wasn't at Jounouchi, even if he was cause of it, because it swam with confusion. A buzzing sounded in his ears as he tried to recalculate to what Jounouchi was telling him, considering all the possibilities that it implied.

And he thought back to the fingers curling beneath his hand.

His shoulders dropped and he shook his head, laughing to himself to assuage the anger boiling in his stomach. This was ridiculous. Angering. Confusing. Ridiculous. And exciting. Ridiculous and exciting.

"So...I can hear people talkin', huh?" Jounouchi asked. The words grounded Kaiba some. He sucked in a deep, cold breath to calm himself, pulling back the anger and the confusion.

Jounouchi's eyes widened, aglow with realisation. "I'm wakin' up, ain't I? If I can hear 'em. I might be."

"Perhaps," Kaiba said. "You moved. Some. When I touched you."

"Yeah?" His smile spread ear to ear, nodding to himself and laughing. Sweet, soft laughter. "So maybe all this is workin'. If we keep goin', it'll keep gettin' better."

Kaiba considered that a possibility, nodding. Maybe it wouldn't be sudden, but in increments. That maybe when they found each piece, something else might happen. "It's possible."

"It's happenin'," Jounouchi said, confident. "An' I was right! This is about us."

"I still doubt that." Their relationship, their break-up, had nothing to do with Jounouchi's comatose state. It wasn't the cause; that was the car, and he was figuring that one out without Jounouchi's help.

"It has to be about us! Think about it, Seto. What's the prophecy say? 'Fix the pieces, leave this place'. Something...something...'not one, but two'. We agree that this had to be done together. We don't have a choice."

"Maybe."

"Nuh-uh. Not maybe. Gotta be," Jounouchi grabbed him by the wrist. "I told ya. Talkin' 'bout the break up was helpin'. It led us t' the monster and that gave us the key. Key is the ring. Ring led to here; now we gotta fix the ring? This is all about that."

"That makes no sense."

"It doesn't have to! This is a dream! I'm...I'm the one stuck here, okay?" Jounouchi's voice broke, his hand slipping down to Kaiba's wrist and interlacing their fingers. "An' if you came in here and are tryin' t' help me out, then this might just be like, whatever my brain thinks it's needs to fix this."

Kaiba's hand didn't move at first, letting Jounouchi's fingers slide around his, tenuous and squeezing as he demanded to be listened to. Slowly, his fingers wrapped back around Jounouchi's to lock them in place. "What are you expecting?" Kaiba asked.

"Expectin'?"

"Of us? When this is all over? When we put the pieces back together?"

Snow flakes began to fall, fluttering by slow, whipped up and around by the wind. They stuck on Jounouchi's eyelashes and hair, and were bright against his flushed cheeks.

Jounouchi rolled his shoulders and looked off into the darkened distance. Lights flickered on around them. "I dunno, I—,"

"Yes, you do."

Jounouchi frowned. "I ain't expectin' miracles, if that's what you're askin'," his grip loosened, but the hand stayed. "I don't think this is gonna make everythin' better between you an' me, but," he paused, letting out a breathy laugh. A sad grin appeared for half of a second. "I can dream. Okay?"

That he admitted he was dreaming made Kaiba keep quiet and wonder what he was expecting out of this, too. The emotions were unburying themselves, and at an alarming rate. So quickly that he was becoming lost in voices and words. Memories. Things he had thrown aside and pretended didn't exist for so long that they seemed like they existed in someone else's life.

"Jounouchi..."

"Look, I said I thought about us a lot; that wasn't a lie."

Kaiba's eyes half lidded, hit with the forlorn note in Jounouchi's voice. "How often is 'a lot'?"

"Like, only every four minutes or so," he replied. His voice changed, bouncing away from the sadness that plagued it, giving Kaiba a bit of sass. Anything to deflect. It would have been hard to tell him to stop being sad; this was all hard to come to grips with. But he could humour Jounouchi for the time being.

Kaiba smirked, "Only?"

"Yeah, ya don't get anymore ya egomaniac," Jounouchi said, knocking his elbow into Kaiba's side. He pulled on Kaiba's arm, them to keep walking. "C'mon. We gotta keep movin'. Gotta be close, right?"

And they walked, closer and closer, following the straight path as the map indicated to them, watching the arrow as it drifted closer to the dot. This may have been easier than they thought. But into silence once again, disquieting Kaiba for a moment or two. He considered Jounouchi's words about thinking of one another, recalling his acerbic comment from before: that he never thought about Jounouchi. Such a lie, even to himself. Especially as the thoughts increased with each passing moment. He knew when he woke up that he would be looking to find if they'd made progress in waking him, to test their the hypothesis and, in turn, be ready to jump back in as soon as he could. Because nothing else seemed like a priority.

Mokuba was right, he hated to admit. Kaiba wanted Jounouchi awake, but he had no idea what was going to happen after, which left him teeter-tottering between emotions. Because as he considered his own excitement at this journey, this adventure with them together, he didn't know what his wants or expectations were once it was over, only that the idea left him chilled.

"Seto?" Jounouchi drew him from his thoughts, shaking his arm. Looking up, Kaiba realised that they were at the underpass, half caved in with rocks, a small path off to the side. Heavy light shone through it, unlike the rest of the world. "Think that's where we're going?"

He consulted the map, seeing the arrow a few feet from the dot. "It has to be. We're right on top of it," Kaiba said.

"What about that objective timer thing? We still good?"

Kaiba flicked over to the timer.

 _3hr 37m 32s._. _._

_31s..._

_30s..._

Five minutes. Time had barely moved. They had walked for at least two hours, he assumed. Or at least, it had felt like it.

"Seems so. Time must be different in here."

"Guess so. Welp, least we don't gotta rush," Jounouchi said. "C'mon, let's go on in. It'll get us outta this snow."

As they reached the entrance of the underpass, more rocks fell in, leaving very little room for something to manoeuvre. Jounouchi studied it, pulling his hand away from Kaiba's and slipping into the crack, his back braced against the wall, arms straight at his sides. "A'right, we can make it through, I think..."

"There's got to be an easier way," Kaiba said. He looked about, approaching the sides of the underpass, finding the stairs out on one side. As he crossed, the other side was the same. Holding his hand up, he attempted to make the stairs materialise themselves, but as soon as they built, they dissipated, crumbling into a mess of rubble and rocks. The next attempt was a ladder. The same result. Falling apart into pieces on the floor. Odd. The game was forcing his hand at this. "Maybe not."

"I see somethin'!" Jounouchi shouted, muffled, as Kaiba reapproached the cave-in. He was nowhere to be seen, having already crept halfway in. "Hear me?"

"Barely."

"I think there's somethin' back here!" Jounouchi shouted, excited.

"Think or know?" Kaiba asked. There was no response.

Pressing his back to the wall, straightening his body until even the backs of his knees were touching it, Kaiba crept through, sometimes up on his tip-toes to squeeze, guided by the flats of his palms. As he went, he heard the faint sound of shoes scraping across cement on the other side. A light rumble started beneath his feet, shifting the rocks.

"Jounouchi?" He called, hearing an echo.

No reply.

Quickening his pace, Kaiba pushed through as much of the space as he could, ignoring as his shirt grabbing onto a pointed edge of a rock. He ripped it away, feeling the tip of rock cut into his skin instead. "Jounouchi? Do you hear me?" More echo. Still no reply.

The inside of the underpass rumbled. The lights flickered. He didn't consider himself afraid of many things, but the very nature of this place seemed so unknown. His jaw twitched he pressed it closed so tight; his breath quickened when he wasn't holding it. Dust and rubble were falling, striking him over the head and invaded his eyes and making them water. Pinching them closed, he kept inching along, ignoring the clenching swirl of panic in his stomach.

"Jounouchi! Answer me, dammit!" He asked, hiding any panic with anger, hearing his echo growl. Another sharp breath in. Keep breathing. This would only be a little while longer. The cars were getting louder. He had to be getting closer. Jounouchi should have heard him. "I swear, you had better be—"

His hand hit air, searching around for more all to hold onto and finding none. He opened his eyes to slats, getting a looking at what was ahead. A small pocket of space that the cave-in hadn't completely blocked, wide enough that he could see both lanes of the underpass, though it was still partially blocked from the other side. There seemed to be more room to get out, with snow drifting in through the cracks. The space was well lit, in spite of the falling debris, calming Kaiba as he stepped out of the enclosed space that he'd crept through.

The ease didn't last long. More panic pulsed through Kaiba, his heart beginning to hammer in his chest again. In the middle of the clearing, amidst a mess of fallen rocks and thick swaths of dirt, Jounouchi's body laid face-down. Kaiba ran to him shaking his head as he knelt down. So much like before. So much like the first dream this couldn't be real this couldn't...

But Jounouchi was wearing the same red shirt and slacks and, as he placed a hand on his shoulder to shake it, he could feel the warmth in Jounouchi's body. The soft, fine hairs on his neck as he slid his hand up to feel for a pulse. Faint, threaded.

He turned the blond over, laying him on his back and watching as his head slumped the side. A patch of blood seeped out from a wound on Jounouchi's forehead, a deep gash seeping where he could guess a rock had struck him on its way down.

"This isn't funny, wake up." Another shake, watching as Jounouchi's body bobbed around but didn't regain consciousness. A shuddered breath rippled through Kaiba.

More shaking, as if all sense had left him. Kaiba's hands clutched tight around Jounouchi's arm, pulling at his sleeve and gripping it until his knuckles turned white. Jounouchi had to wake up in here. He wasn't wearing the wounds from before; they had to heal.

"Katsuya, don't do this to me," he said between grit teeth. His hand slipped down Jounouchi's arm, cupping around the hand clenched in a fist and slipping his fingers in to try and hold it again. Jounouchi's fingers opened, slow, letting him in with enough prying. As he did, he felt something. A small shard of rock jamming itself against the point of his finger.

Prying open Jounouchi's hand, the small gem piece fell out, almost disguising itself in the rubble. Kaiba picked it up, conjuring a small, clear box around it so he didn't lose it. Jounouchi still had the key, after all.

"You found this," Kaiba said to himself in disbelief. "Of course you did."

"...mm,...yup..."Jounouchi mumbled. His eyes opened, but only just.

Relief washed over Kaiba.

The feeling was short-lived. More rock began to fall around them, the space ahead having some of the rocks fall down and show a better path to the snow. Looking down at Jounouchi, Kaiba knew they needed to keep moving; it wasn't safe to stay where they were.

"We have to get out of here," Kaiba said.

"Mm-hm..."

"Can you walk?"

"...mm,...head hurt..."

"That's not an answer, Katsuya," Kaiba said, trying to pull Jounouchi upright. He seemed to flop about, barely lucid, hands fumbling to grab at something but incapable of gripping anything. As more debris fell, Kaiba knew he didn't have a choice but to pick him up. Jounouchi could recover elsewhere.

Shifting about, he pulled Jounouchi up onto his back, holding him from the legs. Jounouchi seemed to know what was happening, resting his chin on Kaiba's shoulder and looping his arms around the executive's neck. As soon as he was attached, Kaiba began walking, stepping up over fallen rocks.

"...mmm...Katsuya...?" Jounouchi asked.

"That's your name," Kaiba said. Briefly, he worried about brain damage.

"A'know...I jus'...mm..."his head settled further down on Kaiba's shoulder. "Like it when ya call me it...Katsuya...ya say it nice...mmm..."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. Such a small thing, their informality. As if they hadn't done it for years. But there it was. Where Jounouchi knew just the right buttons to press to make his stomach turn over, somewhere between afraid and wanting.

“Is that so?" He asked, quiet. 

"...mm...yup." Jounouchi was silent a moment, breathing into his shoulder. "Seto?"

"Hm?"

"...do ya think a'me...?" Kaiba eased up over a small stack of rocks, careful with his footing and bending over to be sure that Jounouchi didn't brush into anything as they moved about. He wondered if Jounouchi would remember this conversation when he became more coherent. "...mmm...do ya...?"

"Only when I'm not asleep."

A small laugh, and Jounouchi buried his face in Kaiba's shoulder. "Only...?"

"I have to sleep sometime."

"...ha...never..."

Kaiba grinned. "Hush, Katsuya."

"...m'kay..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, things are gearing up. :3 they got a bigger journey and a goal!
> 
> My imagination goes places far and wide, but I promise there’s a reason that Jou’s been clonked in the near again. 
> 
> End Act II? We’re at the halfway point. 
> 
> That said, I will be taking a week off because my work schedule went down the crapper. Be back in two weeks! See on that Tuesday!
> 
> Tell me what you think!!


	9. In This Place of Wrath and Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by ‘Adagio for Strings’.

A phone call from Usami woke Mokuba earlier than he would have anticipated, though it had taken the doctor twice to get ahold of the younger Kaiba. He told Mokuba that something strange was happening to Jounouchi, which were the only words he needed to jump up, dress, and head to KaibaCorp. tower.

A quick nod to the guard, speed walking through the quiet lobby to the elevator, pressing the button as many times as he could before the door closed. He'd tried calling Seto multiple times on his way over, getting a voicemail every time. Some part of him was grateful—his brother was in desperate need of sleep if multiple phone calls didn't wake him, but if there was something going on with Jounouchi, he was sure Seto would want to be the first one to know.

The elevator doors opened, and Mokuba bolted to the end of the hall and threw the door open. "What's going on?"

Usami was bent over Jounouchi's bed, holding him on his side. "I'm not sure. A nurse reported seizure-like activity, but he's been like this since I arrived."

A soft moan filled the room. Mokuba's breath hitched. "Seizure? Is he...?"

"He's fine. His vitals are stable but he's been like this for the past hour," Usami said. Jounouchi's fists were curled tight, his teeth clenched. "I'm not sure what's going on; he's still unresponsive, but his brain waves have changed. He seems more conscious than before."

"Conscious?" Mokuba asked, excited. "Really? And you didn't call my brother?"

"I tried. Kaiba-san didn't answer; I don't know how you want me to address this, _Invictus_ appears to have been running all night, Kaiba-san must have..."

Mokuba stopped listening. His excitement died some. Of course, he fumed, staring at the solid red line on Jounouchi's headset. Of course it had to be _Invictus._ He wasn't even surprised Seto had lied to him; he had been lying to himself about his disinterest, his motivations.

His heart.

Another moan. Jounouchi's cheeks twitched, his nostrils flared. Mokuba sat down beside him and reached for a clenched fist, feeling the taut muscle beneath. He didn't want to imagine what Jounouchi was going through if _Invictus_ was affecting him, nor what wonder what it meant that he was being affected at all.

If Jounouchi was suffering while _Invictus_ ran, there was little doubt in Mokuba's mind that Seto was on the other end, suffering as well. And worse. Probably worse, especially unmonitored.

"I need to go." Mokuba jumped from his seat. "I need to check on nii-sama."

"What about Jounouchi-san?"

"Just...keep him comfortable."

"Of course," Usami nodded. "And _Invictus_?"

Mokuba stalled at the door, ready to say give the order for removal. He didn't want either Jounouchi or Seto suffering, it should have made the decision easy. But as he looked over his shoulder, Jounouchi twitched again. For a second, Mokuba swore that the blond's eyes open. Not much, just wide enough to look around before closing again. His mind may have been playing tricks on him, but if Jounouchi was more conscious, then maybe Seto was succeeding. "Just...await further instructions."

He left, decision heavy on his mind.

* * *

Balancing Jounouchi on his back across the rocky terrain of the cave in was precarious. Not because he was heavy, but because of how his hands fought to keep Jounouchi firmly in place, holding onto his legs and squeezing at the backs of his thighs and feeling the taut muscles beneath his dress pants. Squeezing the same way he would when they were in bed and Jounouchi was straddled atop him.

The many nights that they had shared together in lust seemed to hit Kaiba all at once. He could still see the face Jounouchi made every time—washed a glow with ecstasy and lust and maybe a little bit of pride to have the executive beneath him. Biting his lip and staring down at Kaiba as if it every time was his first time. Kaiba's hands would always be settled on Jounouchi's hips to urge him along, but as it became intense, as both of them could no longer string together coherent words between pants and their bodies were slick with sweat, his hands would slip and grip tight to Jounouchi's thighs, his fingertips pressing hard enough to leave small bruises.

His grip on Jounouchi, and the memories, eased once they emerged from the underpass. The blond writhed on his back, finding a more comfortable place to rest. Humid breaths warmed the back of Kaiba's neck, lips so close that they were brushing the skin. He wondered if Jounouchi was being coy in his stupor, because as he walked, Kaiba could hear a faint rumble of laughter over the crunch of the snow.

"You all there, Katsuya?"

"Mmhm."

"Think you can walk?" Kaiba asked. A vehement shake of the head on his shoulder. "Why not?"

"You're warm."

"That's not an answer."

"S'not not an answer either," Jounouchi said.

Kaiba began walking, searching for a place to sit Jounouchi down and assess the situation. There was nothing but a stretch of road, straight and long, lined with throngs of tall, thin, and empty buildings. A financial district; if Kaiba had seen one, he had seen them all. Even without the fresh layer of steady falling snow, it was a cold and efficient looking place, even in its desolation. He could imagine, somewhere in the mess, the shell of KaibaCorp stood.

They didn't have to go far to find a place to rest Jounouchi. Just beyond the underpass sat a small bus stop which, in relation to everything around it, seemed very clean and unbroken. Suspicious. He stepped towards it, deliberate and slow.

Jounouchi's head propped up on his shoulder, scanning the area, and with some clarity said: "Checkpoint."

"Hm?"

"Its a checkpoint...mm...like...'you got the stone, hurrah, take a rest'. Checkpoint."

Kaiba's suspicion waned a fraction, though he was careful as he sat Jounouchi down, prying the reluctant man from him as they sat down. He couldn't place what he was worried about; it was meant to be a place to stop and rest. As if their minds knew they needed it, and yet, the randomness of this world instilled a deep sense of unease. What was a threat, and what would help them, blended seamlessly. Sometimes, they were one and the same.

Jounouchi slouched sideways, sidling up beside Kaiba and laying his head on Kaiba's shoulder. His bare hands shoved between his knees. Shivers wracked his body. Reaching over, Kaiba placed a hand atop Jounouchi's and let a pair of gloves materialise.

"...you were always so warm..." Jounouchi murmured. "In bed. I'd always wrap up around ya. You were such a nice space heater, ya know, for not havin' much meat on you."

"You coiled around me like a snake."

An errant hand slid over and searched for Kaiba's, prodding his thigh, instead. The hand was covered and pressed. The fingers balled beneath Kaiba's palm. "We were some comfy snakes."

"It was sweaty," Kaiba argued.

"You liked it."

Kaiba clicked his tongue. "Katsuya..."

"What?"

"Nothing." Kaiba gripped Jounouchi's chin, tilting his head about to get a better look the damage. Blood coated the entire right side of his face, steaming from a single wound. A thick gash above his ear, resting in the same place, and in the same shape, as the surgical scar. Kaiba frowned, letting Jounouchi's chin go and staring at the wound. It was healing, however slow, suturing itself from the end.

"You ain't thinkin' about just sleepin', are ya?" Jounouchi asked.

The denial was fresh on his lips, but was stopped by the upward look, eyes wide and innocent, that Jounouchi gave him. "Not exactly."

"Yeah. Me either," Jounouchi snickered. "Gettin' back to that 'mind-fuck' question now."

Settling his palm on Jounouchi's cheek, Kaiba pushed face away before the leering gaze intensified. It caused Jounouchi snicker louder. "That's enough," Kaiba said.

"Never is."

"Stop it."

"Nah. I like watchin' ya blush," Jounouchi said. He leaned as far over as he could. "What are you thinkin' about?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Shut up."

"Tell me."

"No."

Jounouchi huffed. "C'mon, Seto."

"Katsuya..."

"Don't tell me you're embarrassed that we used t' do it. I mean, you're a prude but..."his hand waved around the empty space. "We can still talk about it. It's gotta be easier than talkin' about the other stuff we've brought up, ain't it?"

"It's about the same," Kaiba said. He looked to his hands, now slick with Jounouchi's blood. A bowl of steaming water and a cloth were conjured. He was quick to wipe off his hands. "I'd rather we not talk about it all. We'll just get the pieces of the stone and then get out of here."

"Too damn bad, you agreed to talk," Jounouchi said. He winced as Kaiba presses the cloth to his face, dabbing away the thicker flecks of blood.

"About the break-up. Not the sex."

"Break-up. Sex," Jounouchi sing-songed, nodding his head side-to-side. "Same difference."

"Not in the slightest."

Jounouchi laughed. "It was all a part of us."

"A small part."

"Small? What the hell are ya talkin' about?" Jounouchi scoffed. He leaned close as the cloth was placed on his cheek, warm and inviting. "The sex wasn't small. It was like, one of the really good things we had goin'."

"But it wasn't all we had, either," Kaiba said. It wasn't meant to come out sharp, but it did, as if he was suddenly defending their entire non-existent relationship. "Don't tell me that all this time you've only thought about the sex."

Jounouchi's eyes widened and lips parted. He let out short, sputtered breaths as he tried to conjure something to say, pulling away from the warmth of the cloth. "No, 'course not. It's jus' so funny t' tease ya, Seto, I..." Kaiba threw the cloth into the bowl, splashing water over the edge before wringing the blood out of it. His shoulders had hunched and, hands wrapping the cloth tight around his fists, until the fingers almost tore. "Are ya...are ya mad?"

"No."

"Then what's the matter?"

"Nothing," Kaiba said. His voice had levelled, and he unraveled the cloth, moving up to Jounouchi's mostly closed wound and dabbing at it. "Hold still."

"I don't only think about us, ya know, that way. It's jus', I mean, it's some of those memories that are really prominent," Jounouchi said. Kaiba's eyes didn't meet his, though they had narrowed. "Not all of them, of course. I got a lot of memories I think 'bout with us. But like, the sex was always so...it felt like I knew everythin'. And you knew everythin'. Like more than usual," he smiled. "An' nothin' else mattered but me and you then. I felt like I was safe, 'specially when you held on tight. Does that make sense?"

The rag settled in the water, left behind as Kaiba assessed Jounouchi again. He could feel, deep in his stomach, just how irrefutable what Jounouchi said was. Sometimes, when they were alone, when they were holding onto each other and enjoying the private affection. When they would lay together, with waking and sleep were just a haze in between rough breaths and humbled laughter, unfolding in each other and forgetting where one person's skin stopped and the other started, nothing else in the world was confusing or unknown. All the answers to the questions he ever wanted to ask were between the space their lips, their hands, their hips weren't touching.

"I felt it again when ya pulled me out," Jounouchi continued in lieu of a response. "Which, thanks for that. Didn't think that as soon I touched the stone everythin' would started to fall apart."

"Of course you didn't," Kaiba said. "We don't know what this world will do and yet you jump into things with reckless abandonment. To hell with the consequences! Stupid."

Jounouchi stuck out his tongue. "Well, sorry, a'right? It was there jus' there! Might as well have taken it." The reasoning was sound, but that didn't make Kaiba any happier. "Where were ya, anyways?"

"Outside," Kaiba replied. "I was trying to find an easier way around."

"But the map said it was inside. Why would ya go around?" Jounouchi asked.

Kaiba shrugged. "Because the straightest path isn't always the correct one. Sometimes you rush in and bad things can happen if you aren't paying attention."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "It did tell me something: the game does seem to have parameters."

Jounouchi's fingers plucked through the wet hair, pushing it out of his face. "Yeah? Whatcha mean?"

"It didn't let me go around. Seems as if it will force us into objectives."

"Good t' know. Can use that later t' know if we're close," Jounouchi said. Kaiba nodded, even if the suggestion was a little open to interpretation. "Heh, I was right, then."

"You still ran ahead," Kaiba chided, "and I had to come in and save you. Don't make me do it again—you already owe me twice."

Jounouchi snorted. "What's it with you an' the owin'? Ya really wanna make sure I come an' see ya that bad when I wake up?" Kaiba said nothing, pouring the now red water over the snow and watching it melt beneath his feet. "Anyways, long as I got the stone, we can call it even. Which..."he paused and began to run his hands down his coat, sticking them in his pockets. "Wait, do I got the stone? I remember touchin' it, then the whole place started to collapse an'—"

Kaiba produced the clear box, the shard shaking inside it. Jounouchi snatched away.

"Yes, Katsuya, you owe me twice."

Unintelligible words garbled from Jounouchi, the box pried open so he could look at it. "What do we do with it? It's gotta go somewhere."

"Do you still have the ring?"

"Ya mean the key?"

"It's a ring," Kaiba said. Jounouchi sneered as he retrieved it from his pocket and displayed it, the ring side up. As soon as the key was placed close, the shard began to rattle around the edges of the box, making small jumps and climbing the corners.

"What, ya wanna be put it in there?" Jounouchi asked to the shard, wide-eyed at its curious movements.

The lid of the box was opened, and the small shard carefully pinched between Jounouchi's fingers. He hardly had to put it near the ring for it to magnetise into the a divot of the silver, latching and settling as of it had never left. A shimmer of light enveloped it, the key shivering in Jounouchi's hand, forcing his arm upwards. His grip tightened.

"I uh, what's this thing doin'?" Jounouchi asked, looking to Kaiba for answers. The executive shook his head and reached up to retrieve the key, only to back down as the light intensified, leaving both of them blinded while it emitted a high-pitched squeal. "Seto?"

The world ceased to exist beneath Kaiba's feet, toes pulling away from the ground but still searching for it frantically. One hand clung to the arm of the bench, aware that he was still sitting, that he hadn't fallen through the world and was in a sense of waking, but upon opening his eyes, his breath was taken from him. The world had become small, and only grew smaller, as the bench shot up into the air at an alarming rate, swinging through a mess of buildings and dodging quick corners just a moment before impact. It stopped suddenly, as if lost and lingering, before making a quick lurch to the side.

Jounouchi collapsed into him, hugging him tight and curling close into his side. Kaiba looped an arm around Jounouchi's waist. He had pulled his entire body up onto the bench, his knees balled into his chest, but he still looking around, somewhere between amazed and distraught, mouth agape and searching for words. The ring was still clutched in his hand, held upright and glowing.

"Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop..."he muttered into Kaiba's shoulder.

The bench stopped ascending, entering a wide hole near the top of a building and falling onto the ground with a heavy 'thud'. The occupants, still shaken, took a moment to feel solid ground beneath their feet, though Kaiba tested it twice, making sure the floor wasn't about to give out underneath them.

"Katsuya?" Kaiba nudged Jounouchi. "Katsuya, let go."

"No."

"We've landed, it's fine."

Jounouchi popped his head up, scanning the area. "Why we here?"

They had landed in an office building, in a darkened lobby, straight and clean. There was only minimal damage from whatever had ravaged the outside world. Sterile pictures hung crooked on the walls, potted plants were toppled on their sides. Paperwork seemed to make a path down a long, narrow hall.

Kaiba reached for the orb, wondering if it was another part on the map, but stopped. A shadow skittered past at the end of the hall. Every muscle seized.

"Seto," Jounouchi patted Kaiba's shoulder. "There's something here."

"I'm aware."

Lights flickered on above them, one by one, illuminating the hall. Jounouchi jumped from the seat, the shield conjured again, a short sword in his opposite hand. "Ya think it's like one of those things from before?"

"It very well could be."

Jounouchi grinned. "Then let's kill it! Last one gave us the key!"

Jounouchi ran down the hall, Kaiba quick in tow, the same glaive conjured from before. "Katsuya, what did I just say about running off!"

"You can enjoy watching my ass from behind!"

"I'm not watching your—," Kaiba stopped himself. Jounouchi looked back, smirking, before rounding the corner. How quick he was to go from scared to adventurous. At least whatever they saw had a chance to be felled.

As they ran, a myriad of obstacles were thrust out of the way; Jounouchi cleared a path with a flick of a wrist or the force of his sword slicing through them, leaving Kaiba to dodge file cabinets, chairs, plants, and the occasional door or water cooler, making quicksteps from one side to the other, jumping over them and yelling at Jounouchi for his carelessness. But it was fun, in someway, seeing glimpses of the languid, humanoid creature not far ahead of them, slithering just out of their reach, while they scoured long halls and quick corners to catch up. A brief reprieve before they continued on their quest and, maybe, it would offer them aid in some way.

The halls were labyrinthine, but never repeated, with a different set of features glazed by in an instant while they ran, almost shoulder to shoulder as Kaiba's long strides caught up to Jounouchi and nudged him out of the way. He used any of the objects that Jounouchi had been casting aside as projectiles, not discounting their use, and slamming them against the walls and corners, trying to clip or trap the creature before it slithered around a corner. Jounouchi shot back equalled curses as he thrust the debris away from them, creating a large shield to counteract any of the larger pieces that blew back their way.

In a moment of fury, with spite in his veins to catch this monster and no moe doors to throw at it, the glaive was thrust as hard as Kaiba could muster with minimal aim. It struck, the creature wailing, a splash of purple blood littering the carpet, but it kept running, passing around another corner.

The glaive was summoned back to Kaiba's hand. So close.

Jounouchi grit his teeth. "Where the hell you takin' us! Afraid of us 'cause we killed your friend!" Jounouchi shouted. They had both stopped, taking a second to catch their breath before bounding forward again. "Runnin' won't save ya! We'll get whatever ya got!"

Boundless laughter and enthusiasm. Whatever stamina Jounouchi had lost was gained back in an instant, though Kaiba kept a slow pace behind, taking in the subtle changes around them.

Even in his momentary pause, Kaiba gathered that the world was changing. The scenery was similar, but not quite right. The same place, but at a different time. Trudging down the long hall of windows, night had given way, casting bright swaths of pink and orange. Daylight had come quick, with the snow outside washed away with the sun. The streets had become sharper; outlines became more defined, less covered in vegetation and decay. Most of the vines and roots had receded, making the semi-rusted chassis of the cars around them more distinct. Drivable, if Kaiba had to guess, even with the road was still strewn with rubble, though it was far less rocky than before. Instead, it was littered in papers driven into the pavement, covered in a sea by glass and rebar, coated fresh dust instead of snow. The surrounding buildings were still in varying states of disarray; perhaps not far from the moment that they were destroyed. When, Kaiba mused. And would they see it the longer this went on. Perhaps.

A loud crash snapped his attention to the end of the hall.

"Fuck!"

Kaiba pressed on, running after Jounouchi's voice, but following the trail of blood that creature had left behind. The blond was stalled in front of a cascade of different office supplies, blocking the entrance to a wider room. All of them were being thrown out and away, landing behind Jounouchi before he became tired of them and began to crawl overtop the small mass. "What happened?"

"Bastard got away. Fizzled into thin air," Jounouchi said. Kaiba focused on pressing the rest of the items out of the way, melting them into the ground and passing through. "Where the hell'd he go? Bringin' is to your turf, is that it? It ain't gonna make it any easier on you, ya know! It—,"

Jounouchi paused.

In front of them was a male mannequin, it's back turned towards them, stopped mid-stride. It sported a mop of blond hair, and was dressed down in a t-shirt and jeans, his coat hung over his shoulders. He carried a plastic bag around his arm.

"Are you trying to make memories again?" Kaiba asked.

"Nah. I ain't doin' this," Jounouchi said. He peered around the room. In the corner, beside a set of double doors, was a desk. Another mannequin, with hair tight in and bun and dressed prim but plain, sat in behind the desk and shouldered a phone. Ebi-san. "I just got here, found it like this, I...maybe the creature made it? Could still be around here somewhere?"

"The creature can't manipulate this world," Kaiba said, though his voice trailed approached the blond mannequin from the side. He was barely next to it before he recognised Jounouchi's uneven profile. Compared to his secretary, Jounouchi's features were far more defined, more committed to Kaiba's memory. To the point that Kaiba reached out to touch the cheek, a dark smudge under the eye. As his fingers brushed it, the mannequin blinked, shuddering a breath of life through it and continuing its stride.

"...calling Kaiba-san's office. He's busy at the moment, may I take a message?"

The doppelgänger of Ebi-san had come to life and nodded towards memory Jounouchi as he opened Kaiba's office door. The executive followed, even more curious, the glaive dematerialising. Jounouchi was just behind, catching the door before it closed.

Inside, the room was dull, morning sunlight filtered through heavy curtains. Kaiba's doppelgänger sat behind the desk, typing away, the clacking of keys filling the room. Jounouchi's double sat the bag of food on the edge of the desk.

"Brought ya breakfast." The memory Jounouchi said.

Kaiba's double didn't look up. "Why?"

"'Cause Mokuba asked me to. Said ya hadn't been home yet."

The clacking of keys stopped. "Something urgent came up with the satellite."

Jounouchi nodded, rounding the desk to Kaiba's side and leaning on the edge. "So you ain't slept all night, huh?" Kaiba's double shook his head. "You want me to go get coffee, too? I jus' brought egg and rice. Should still be warm. Oh, and miso. Though it might've leaked..."

A coffee cup was raised to show Jounouchi, though Kaiba's eyes still hadn't looked away from the screen.

The pair stood back, observing the quiet interaction of themselves, the way that memory Jounouchi carefully placed the items across Kaiba's desk, inspecting the sealed bowls and wiping any spilled liquid from the edges before setting them down. The way that Kaiba's double, as if instinctual, reached out for the bowls and chopsticks. He pulled them close, opening up the container the rice was in and stirring it around before taking a bite.

"How long had we been together when this happened? Six months?" Jounouchi asked.

"Give or take."

Jounouchi nodded. "You thinkin' of this memory? Makin' in happen like the break-up?"

"No," Kaiba said. "Nor did I upload this memory in with the others."

Jounouchi lowered his head, lips pursing. "What sorts of memories did you put in there? Were they, like, only important ones or...?"

Kaiba bit back his words, jutting his chin out for Jounouchi to pay attention to the doubles, recalling just how this particular moment in their lives played out. Anything for a reprieve from answering Jounouchi's question. It would give him time to de-fang every foul word or thought from the reasoning behind uploading memories; the reason behind _Invictus_ , in some ways.

Hopping up on the edge of the desk, memory Jounouchi pulled a peach from the bag and started gnawing into it for breakfast. They didn't look at one another as they ate, but co-existed with harmony in a close and private space. Normal. Routine, even, Kaiba considered, after such a short time together. For how much they nipped and fought with one another, and as entertaining those discussions were, he always found their silences were even more extraordinary. They were comfortable in quiet, lost in their own secret world of little motions.

Memory Jounouchi leaned in, watching as Kaiba ate and skimmed through different pages on the computer. Every time he set aside the bowl of rice and began scrolling, Jounouchi pushed it back towards him, and it was stolen with flourish, a few more bites taken. By the seventh time, the real Kaiba counted, he felt himself just as annoyed as his doppelgänger, but held his hand over his mouth to stifle any bit of laughter. Looking back on it, Jounouchi's gestures were as harmless as they were considerate.

"Will you stop it?" Kaiba nudged the bowl back towards Jounouchi. "I'll eat in a minute."

"No, ya won't."

"I will. But this needs to be finished first," Kaiba's double said.

Another bite was taken from the peach. "An' when's that gonna happen exactly?"

"Stop talking with your mouth full."

Memory Jounouchi made sure he took another full bite from the peach before he said: "I'm s'pose t' make sure ya eat it all. That's wha' Mokuba said, an' I'm gonna do it. I din't go and make ya breakfast for it t' go cold."

The bowl was shoved towards Kaiba. Finally, the executive looked up, ready to yell. His eyes widened, mouth set firm. "Pup...?"

The real Jounouchi stepped as close as he could. His hands rested on the edge of the desk, enamoured by the scene but also biting his lip, shaking his head. Kaiba couldn't decide whether he was upset or overtaken by the experience, holding back something so much that his body shivered.

"What? S'there somethin' on my face?" Memory Jounouchi asked. He went to wipe his mouth with his wrist, but Kaiba's double stopped him, standing as he did. "What's the matter? I know I'm messy, geez. Cool your jets. Let me go, I got it."

Memory Kaiba's pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the watery bits of peach, but the other hand was cupped along Jounouchi's face, thumb running over where a dark bruise arched over the cheekbone, tracing where it dotted down his jawline before resting it on the corner of his lip, hovering close the wide split on his lip. His thumbnail picked at dried blood around the split. "What happened?"

Both Jounouchis' heads sank; Kaiba heard uneven breathing coming from the real Jounouchi, his fists clenched on the desk.

"Nothin'. Jus', ya know..."memory Jounouchi shrugged. "Stuff."

"You didn't have bruises when you left last night. Were you jumped on the way home?" The double of Jounouchi forced the hand down, but Kaiba wasn't letting it go. Jounouchi shook his head. "Then what happened?"

"It ain't important."

"It happened this morning, didn't it?" Kaiba's double asked. Memory Jounouchi nodded, brief. The handkerchief rested on memory Jounouchi's lip, wiping at the split with a careful, steady hand, dabbing away any blood. "Did you and your father get into it again?" Another nod, also brief.

Kaiba felt himself sighing along with his doppelgänger. "It wasn't nothin'. Shit happens, ya know? I got up early, he was still drunk an' thought I was an intruder. I get it. I don't usually get up this early unless I have to and..." Hands cupped at memory Jounouchi's face, tilting his head upwards so the two would meet eye to eye.

"Don't make excuses for him."

"I'm okay, really," Kaiba grunted, disagreeing. "Ya don't have to clean me up every time."

"I will if I must."

Jounouchi's hands settled overtop of Kaiba's. "Keep actin' like this an' we might have to start makin' it a thing between you and me," the memory Jounouchi joked. A smile popped up, but it wasn't reciprocated. He sighed. "I can take care of myself, Seto. An' you, too. Make sure ya eat and everythin' so Mokuba doesn't hafta worry about ya as much."

The memory Jounouchi went to stand, to pull away from the hands that gripped him and create distance. Kaiba stopped him. Forced closer, instead, Jounouchi's double fought for a brief moment, only to have a pair of lips crush onto his. The kiss swallowed any comments or complaints, not that the blond's double could come up with any. His body fell in slack, leaning close and settling his hands on the elbows of Kaiba's double.

When they parted, the double's head bowed against Kaiba's shoulder, frozen in place, though Kaiba held him close. Slowly, the doppelgängers, and the memory, faded away. The room dimmed, the crisp details of the office giving way to place that time had forgotten, with dust settled on every piece of furniture, all of the office supplies strewn onto the floor. A large hole in the wall behind the thrust warm, stiff winds through the room, kicking any linger papers about.

The real Kaiba stepped further forward, inches away from Jounouchi as he wrestled with himself, forcing himself to look upright. His eyes were reddened, watered. His wrist wiped at his nose.

"I was so confused. I...I didn't know why ya did that I jus' thought..." Jounouchi laughed, water-logged and in disbelief. "That kiss hurt ya know."

"The cut on your lip wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, but that still don't mean it didn't hurt." Jounouchi's hand touched his chest. "Hurt in the head...like, I didn't get why it happened. Thought it wasn't real, or that maybe you were playin' some mean trick jus' to get me to shut up. "

"That was the first one, wasn't it?" Kaiba asked.

Jounouchi thought for far too long on a question they both knew the answer to. "Yeah. Yeah it was. I was always surprised ya did it first."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Figured that there would be a moment where I would stop bein' so afraid of it all, of whatever the hell was goin' on with us and just—bam!—throw ya over the desk and we'd get right into things but I just," he paused. A weak breath shuddered out. Kaiba braced the desk beside Jounouchi, and the blond settled a hand atop Kaiba's. "I never felt good enough for ya, then. After all that time, it never felt real. Like I was just gonna stop seein' ya one day even though I'd been bringin' ya dinner and spendin' time at the house with you and Mokuba. It was so stupid, it made no sense what I was thinkin'. But I was so nervous because...I dunno...because it was me. And you were you and we were..."

"I wouldn't have let you in if you weren't good enough," Kaiba said. Jounouchi picked his hand up away from Kaiba's and wiped away the rest of the unfallen tears, collecting himself.

"Ya wanna know what's funny? I remember that I was actually talkin' to Mokuba about this right before the accident," Jounouchi said. Kaiba found his brows furrowing, begging to ask why. "I don't remember why, but I was talkin' about this as we walked down the stairs...about all of its weird feelings. I said the same things to him—that I was all insecure and stuff about me and you. Ya know what he said?"

"I can only imagine."

"Same damn thing you just did. I swear, I talk to one of ya, I'm talkin' to both of you. It's crazy," Jounouchi said. His laughter died away. He stepped around the desk and looked out the wide hole, gazing down at the street below, his hand blocking out strong sunlight as he scanned the horizon.

Still braced against the desk, Kaiba shuddered to connect the dots. Jounouchi was talking to Mokuba about this moment before he was hit, and it was surfacing in their dreams? It wasn't even something they had fully stumbled upon, either. The bench took them to the specific building, and then the monster ran them around the halls, disappearing just when they reached the lobby? It was too much to be coincidence. He just wondered if the shard had anything to do with it. As soon as it was placed, everything swung into motion.

There was no proof. Just coincidence.

Five more shards to go. They had wasted enough time on this nonsense.

"Well, that was uh...enough of that," Jounouchi said. He turned around and walked around the room. "That thing really did just disappear. We should prolly get outta the building before it shows up again. How far are we from the next piece?"

The orb was produced, the map displayed. The indicator for the piece they had collected vanished. The next nearest piece, somewhere near a shoreline, was selected as their next target. A small line drew from their arrow to the dot. "It's a lot farther than the last."

"Then we better get goin', huh?"

Kaiba nodded, flicking to diagram of stone. The space of the shard they had collected was filled in. One of six. He flicked to the timer. _3hr 15m 42s...41s...40s..._

Jounouchi leaned out the window again. "So, I dunno about you, but Air Bench ain't exactly the way I wanna get back down. Think we should jump?"

Kaiba peered out. "I wouldn't."

"Aw, c'mon, we can make a trampoline or somethin' like I did before. Or a slide. Maybe...ice slide? That's be pretty fun. Or maybe too cold...could just be a regular slide instead. Or a really long ladder. Nah, that'd take too long..."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I don't care how we get down, but jumping into trouble doesn't seem to be the best way."

"Trouble?"

"We're not alone anymore," he pointed to the small creatures that seemed to emerge from the spaces between the buildings. Jounouchi leaned far out of the window, counting each of the creatures as they roamed around.

"Well, guess the difficulty went up. Nothin' wrong with that."

Kaiba grinned at Jounouchi. "Quite the assessment."

"I got a few of them," Jounouchi said. A sword and shield were conjured. "This world gets us. Knows what we want and tries to make it a fair thing for us, too, I bet. What's the fun of a game if we don't have a challenge to conquer? What a place...knows us better than we know ourselves."

Kaiba wasn't sure if Jounouchi was thinking about the actual stakes anymore, even if he knew them. The path of his conscious life laid ahead of them, simple and clear, but there was something else that made his face glow in the summer sunlight. Proud, sure, and confidence in spades that he was right. It would have been easy to contradict Jounouchi, to spout all the diagnostics, the technological babble about how the game was calculating their subconscious', but the conversation was moot. Jounouchi's unabashed confidence would never wane, even in the adversity of it.

While Kaiba calculated the probabilities of their failures in the wake of such a daunting task, Jounouchi dove headfirst, heedless of the consequences and carved out his own choices. He'd proven that time and time again in life; getting socked in the gut meant nothing if he stood right back up again. Kaiba began to consider everything that he'd done to make Jounouchi stop trying.

Answers for another time; they were trying now, with dubious results waiting them at the end. Even if nothing happened when Jounouchi woke up, if he woke up, there was still going to be the peace of mind that came with getting to talk about all the things they had left hanging in the air before the abrupt absence of each other in their lives.

Jounouchi stepped close to Kaiba, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "I'm gonna jump down there an' kick some ass."

"Katsuya," Kaiba groaned. "Don't just jump. It's stupid, it's pointless..."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"You could get hurt."

"An' you ain't gonna clean me up like ya always do?"

"No."

With little notice, Jounouchi pulled Kaiba close, kissing him long enough that Kaiba remembered without fail. How sweet, and how raw, it felt to taste him again. Like he was tasting all of the colours at once, his tongue lapping along the edge of Jounouchi's bottom lip. It felt as if the only space of time between them had been a business trip, and Jounouchi had taken hold of him in the backseat of the car as he was picked up from the airport, showering him in kisses as he tried to pull away but, once the doors closed, took control.

"You sure?"

Kaiba's head swam, as if Jounouchi's lips had sucked all of the air from his lungs and trapped it. "Was that supposed to persuade me?"

"...maybe? Is it working?"

"Mm, I don't know."

"Maybe we could...try again?" Jounouchi asked, laughing.

The compulsion to the fill the warm air between them was there, and Kaiba didn't think before he pressed his lips back to Jounouchi's. Kissing him again and again. Like taking small hits of the taste while thinking, and knowing, he would never feel it again. Once Jounouchi woke up, things wouldn't be the same. They couldn't be the same people they were; Jounouchi probably wouldn't even remember that any of this had happened. But this was a dream. And anything could happen in a dream.

"Let's go. We need to get to the next piece. We've wasted enough time." Kaiba said, reluctant to break the kids. 

"Says the man who's wastin' it," Jounouchi laughed.

Kaiba looked down to the street below, forming stairs to get them down. They began to descend. "I may wake up soon."

"Hopefully not too soon," Jounouchi said.

Kaiba was inclined to agree.

* * *

Mokuba's haste to reach Seto had included running several red-lights, muttering apologies under his breath as he did. Every second he wasted waiting as he drove to Seto was a second that something catastrophic might be happening. That he would run through the doors and find his brother writhing just like Jounouchi. As much as he didn't want to be right, he wasn't confident in what _Invictus_ was doing to them—even if Jounouchi was gaining some consciousness, what was the cost?

The gas pedal was on the floor as Mokuba went up the long drive of the manor, struggling to shake the images of Seto not breathing. Or worse. No. He couldn't project those thoughts.

It was daybreak when the car screeched to halt in front of the manor, and Mokuba bolted, not even bothering to shut the front door as he burst through and thundered upstairs. The house was still dark, though he was sure it shouldn't have been. This time of morning, Seto would have already been up, even if he had been exhausted. Five-thirty, every morning, without fail.

And yet, when he stepped into the bedroom, he was still in bed. His phone was already ringing, but he hadn't roused to answer it. Mokuba sat on the edge of the bed, eyes peeled over his brother's sleeping form. Placid. Calm. Laid flat on his back with his head turned. He was right, Seto was wearing the headset. It’s blue line gave a grave pallor to his face.

Gently, he laid a hand on Seto's shoulder, shaking him. Light, at first. "Nii-sama?" He asked. The phone stopped ringing, and Mokuba reached out for it, glancing over at it. There were plenty of messages piled up, that was nothing new, but he was surprised at the number of calls. He turned back to Seto. "Nii-sama, its time to get up. You have to go to work."

Mokuba shook Seto with both hands, enough that he knew Seto should have awoken. Even the lightest touches had a tendency to wake Seto up, a bane of Mokuba's existence when sneaking around. "Nii-sama, please wake up."

It felt like rocks had formed in Mokuba's stomach. He swallowed heavily, pushing back the raw sensation forming in his throat. "You...you have to wake up. For me, you have to wake up. You...you said you wouldn't do this and you did and..." His hands squeezed Kaiba's forearm. "Just wake up. It'll be okay if you wake up. I won't say anything else, I promise. Jou's getting a little better. You're right. Okay? You can wake up and go back later..."

Mokuba gripped Seto's jaw, moving his head upright and jostling him. Begging him. Pleading between clenched teeth. But when he let go, Seto's head fell back in place. It was then he noticed a smile on Seto's face. Had it been there the whole time? If it had, it was just mocking Mokuba.

For the next twenty minutes Mokuba kept trying. Kept talking to Seto as he fought with the fear that his brother was lost. Worse yet, he didn't know if taking the headset off would even matter. It may have been the only thing that was keeping Seto alive at all.

"This is all my fault, nii-sama," Mokuba hiccuped. He leaned his head against Seto's chest. "...I'm so sorry..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they are hurrying on to the shards, I promise, but it’s less about how hard they are to find and more about...what happens when they do? 
> 
> So, poor Mokuba? Is Kaiba really stuck? Maybe is he...doing it willingly or is it Invictus doing it? Tell me what you think. 
> 
> Find put next week. See ya next Tuesday.


	10. Looms but the Horror of the Shade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by ‘hall of the Mountain King’. And a lot of Billy Joel.

"Your right! Right!" Kaiba didn't glance back for more than half a second. "Other right, pup!"

"Piss off!"

Jounouchi was felled to the ground, kicking away a small, imp-like creature that crawled up his legs. He sword was frantically waved about, knocking out more of the little monsters, making some of them disappear into the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, bashing the shield into the face of another imp.

The heat of the kiss they shared, the moment and it's quiet touches, was forgotten to the throes of battle now laid before them. The horde was endless. From the moment they stepped off the stairs they had been surrounded by the myriad of creatures that suddenly inhabited the world, open-eyed and ravenous to seek out a meal. Weak as they were, the very rats of the place Kaiba suspected, their sheer number was making them hard to endure. When one wave was felled, more arrived to take their place, crawling out of the shadows.

Kaiba panted. This was a waste of precious time. Slow and ticking, but precious.

Arcing the glaive around, clipping a circle of imps, Kaiba cleared a small path. Another wave wasn't far behind. They needed to a way out, any way out. For the last few moments, he tried to conjure some mode of transportation, but everything he was thinking of came like arid waves and sparks. They appeared liked illusions, faint and transparent, but never became solid.

This was a headache. What will did Kaiba need to make something as simple as a car appear? He doubted that it was his own creation being troublesome; if so, then he didn't want to know if this was just a lack of parameters and definition or a byproduct of their environment making decisions for them. A predictive AI, of sorts. That very thought was maddening. The creation was meant to give them full control and make no input, only to follow commands of a rapid-fire subconscious. It made Kaiba's head throb to imagine it had decided to do the controlling and testing instead. If they were to fail to meet its parameters, the outcomes could have been catastrophic.

Kaiba glanced to Jounouchi, wide-eyed, as he ran by, cutting into an imp coming from Kaiba's left side. "What about _your_ other right, huh?"

His feelings, his fears, buckled down in face of the problem. He could work out the kinks when he woke up. "I'm busy."

"Doin' what? Standin' there?" Another imp was sliced.

"No, I'm trying to get us out of here, preferably in the quickest way possible."

Jounouchi turned around, placing his back to Kaiba's and throwing his sword out to towards a line of the imps. They fell in quick succession, with Jounouchi emitting a satisfied 'hmph'. Kaiba could hear the grin. "So what, are you summonin' a bus or somethin'?"

"'Summoning'?" Kaiba scoffed. He didn't even want to dig into the 'bus' part of it. "I'm not a magician."

"No? So snappin' your fingers an' changin' my clothes ain't a magician?"

"It's a content creator."

Jounouchi's back pressed against his. "You're wavin' your hands around tryin' to make somethin' appear outta thin air. You're a magician. An' I'm the warrior," he cut down another imp. "An' ya know what you should make? Dragons, we could seriously like jus' fly outta here! Makes sense for a game."

Another scoff was held back as Kaiba went back to focused, the glaive materialising and thrown as more imps approached. A car was all he needed, and he pulled one of the rusted chassis' close, beginning to modify it instead. Hopefully his assessment of 'drivable' had been accurate. "Be useful, Katsuya! Keep anything away from me while I figure this out."

"You got it."

Jounouchi made soft grunts as he went around swinging, pushing back the imps while circling about Kaiba. The thought of a dragon seemed to keep entering his mind; a break in concentration. This shouldn't have been so difficult. Snapping his fingers had worked for a multitude of things, but trying now had no effect, even if he attempted it several times at his side.

"Anytime would be nice!"

Kaiba twisted around to Jounouchi as he pounced around. "Shut up, you're making this worse."

"Oh, I'm making it worse."

"You're the one that wanted to be down here," Kaiba snapped.

They were bloody and worn, covered in bruises and scraps, unable to keep an even breath and swathed with sweat. Loose scraps of clothing were the remains of plentiful animosity. Kaiba's held out his hand, almost begging the fingertips, the little crescents of his nails. Anything to make. This. Work. But as the details fished themselves out of whatever temperamental dimension he was able to conjure them, Kaiba still wasn't making fast improvements. Summon. Summoning a car. That was laughable.

Summoning a dragon. That sounded powerful. Right, even. That was the kind of thing Kaiba would summon while attempting to test _Invictus_. To make sure he was the one truly doing the testing. To push the capacity at which it could create, especially bringing forth such a beautifully monstrous creature about in all its glory and wonder. To make it tangible, to interact with it like some high fantasy and galavant around the created world with the wind in his face and the sun on his back. Perhaps that was something Jounouchi wanted, too.

Kaiba's arms lowered to his sides, and he looked to the sky as he snapped his fingers. The skin hadn't stopped touching when he heard the screech in the distance, the whistle of air against the sharp wings of the mythical beast.

In his awe, Kaiba felt an imp crawling close, biting into his calf and scratching through his pant leg. The glaive sheared through it, turning it to ash around his feet. Jounouchi wheeled into him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as the shimmering, almost metallic blue dragon swept through the skyscrapers, casting a long shadow ahead of it.

"That is fuckin' awesome!" Jounouchi gaped. He looked over, clapping a hand on Kaiba's shoulder and shaking it.

"Of course it is."

"Better than the holograms."

"Don't push it," Kaiba said, side eyeing Jounouchi and seeing the mischievous grin on the blond's face. "It's...close."

Jounouchi batted Kaiba's arm playful. "Yeah? Why dontcha see how close?"

But by overlooking the frozen imps, either impressed or petrified in fear, as the Blue Eyes swept lower into the city, Kaiba grinned as well. It was impressive. More than he had imagined and, to top it off, he knew that he could use it to his advantage. What was a dragon but a supreme, powerful creature? His Blue Eyes always had been, even as his passion for it had simmered over the years. The card was still treasured.

"Blue Eyes!" Kaiba called. "White Lightning!"

The dragon's maw opened, with a bright patch of light spitting from the back of its throat and crashing down across the imps, almost incinerating them in the process. Jounouchi grabbed Kaiba's arm and dragged him away from the street as the bolts sprung from one imp to the next in a chain. The attack didn't stop until the Blue Eyes had made a full swoop across the infested stretch of road. It left nothing but ash in its wake.

Kaiba's heart throttled in his chest. What a rush. These were the capabilities he saw in this project, the very overzealous nature of what dreams had the potential to create uninhibited. But it wasn't just that. It was the way that Jounouchi clung from him, rocking on his heels and staring at the sky with glitter in his eyes that made him loose his breath. He was never tired of seeing Jounouchi astonished and overcome with child-like wonder.

"Still close?"

"Very."

"Uh-huh," Jounouchi drawled. Kaiba settled back to sinus rhythm. The dragon circled above them, roaring, prepared to attack at a moment's notice. "What else ya need?"

"To ride it."

Jounouchi laughed. "How'd I know?"

"You didn't."

With widened eyes, Jounouchi's hand landed over his chest, feigning hurt. "Did so," he said. Gently, he batted Kaiba's arm, chuckling. "Ya can't ride a hologram, but this thing? You can ride this thing, an' it would be amazin'. You know it would."

A little smile formed, quickly swallowed. "Perhaps."

"Nah-uh, none of that. I seen ya smilin'. Ya know I'm right. C'mon, call the thing down here," Jounouchi said. Kaiba shook his head. "Why not?"

"It's not practical."

"And?"

"It's also not necessary," said Kaiba. Jounouchi's shoulders drooped. "We're on a timer and we need to get the pieces. We don't have time to play."

"We can make a little time for it," Jounouchi said. He stepped out into the middle of the road, leaving Kaiba's side bare. Cold. He refused to follow, instead folding his arms over his chest. "Don't tell me ya ain't really, really wantin' to ride a real Blue Eyes?"

"'Real' is debatable."

Jounouchi's shoulders slumped. "Aw, c'mon, you can't say that. It's basically real. Jus' call the damn thing down. We'll ride it together."

"Katsuya..."

"If ya don't, I will. An' then you'll be jealous."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "You don't command it."

"Heh, says you."

"I summoned it. Therefore, I command it."

"I'll prove ya wrong!" Jounouchi said. Kaiba snorted, looking away and shaking his head. "You're gonna owe me a kiss when I do."

"Am I, now?"

"Yup," Jounouchi said, and enthused pop with his 'p'. The Blue Eyes glided low, wings flapping slow and deliberate as it turned overhead, disappearing in a throng of buildings. Jounouchi grinned. "Get ready to pucker up!"

Jounouchi raised his arms and waved towards the dragon, yelling for it. He skidded around the street, trying to follow the Blue Eyes as it made break-neck turns before descending, shooting past Jounouchi and leaving a trail of wind in its wake. The blond cursed after the dragon, attempting to snatch the end of its whipping tail, grasping at after images.

Confident that anything he said would be ignored, and somewhat curious as to Jounouchi's level of success, Kaiba kept still and watched, amused, as Jounouchi pivoted along the road to run the opposite length. "I'll get it!" Jounouchi declared as he whizzed by.

The challenge was inconsequential, if all Jounouchi wanted was another kiss. The floodgates had been opened; Kaiba would grant him that if it meant shutting him up about this whole affair. Or just to taste him again.

Kaiba shook the thoughts and, while Jounouchi ran, checked the timer. _3hr 07m 17s...16s...15s..._

Another shadow began to descend upon them. A low, thunderous growl rumbling the upper windows of the building. Kaiba braced for another assault, anticipating something that could take his Blue Eyes on. He was half-right. Instead of another inky monster, Kaiba had another pulse of excitement ripple through him as he saw the matte dark body of the Red Eyes begin to descend through the building, the pointed tips of its wings and tail crashing through any windows that happened to be in its way.

It sped by Kaiba, keeping itself several meters from the ground as it knocked any objects out of its way. It's eyes pointed forward, maw open wide, preparing a crash course towards Jounouchi who seemed almost blissfully unaware.

"Katsuya! Stop it!" Kaiba followed the Red Eyes, heading full sprint in the same direction and avoiding the whip of its tail by millimetres. "Turn around you idiot!"

"I'm tryin' to get your stupid dragon down here—!"

Kaiba stopped so fast he almost fell. The Red Eyes lifted in front of Jounouchi, baring it's back legs as it slowed long enough to wrap its talons around the blond. It shot into the air again, Jounouchi screaming until his voice broke from a short, but tight, squeeze from the talons. His legs bicycled around, frantically searching for solid ground. His hands clawed upwards, latching onto the joint between the talon and the foot to pull himself upright, swinging his legs back and forth to find grip anywhere. "This ain't what I meant!"

Every moment that passed by in the Red Eyes' rapid ascent was watched in pure horror. Kaiba had gone cold from the moment that the Jounouchi was taken, squeezed like some toy as he writhed, shouted and, if Kaiba could hear his distant pleas, cried to be let go. The fall alone would kill him. Not that they could die, Kaiba had to assure himself, but the very thought shuddered him somewhere down deep.

"Blue Eyes, down! Now!" Kaiba said. The dragon crashed in front of him, and he jumped on the back of it, perching himself between the plates and finding a place to hold on, another command ready. Instead, he was taken aback by the slow expanding and contracting of its chest beneath his calves—the warm smoothness of its hide. A living creature sat beneath Kaiba, not just hologram ready for battle.

Understanding Kaiba's motions, the Blue Eyes begin ascending, so quick that Kaiba was pressed against its ridges by the sudden change in force. His ears popped from the rapid ascent, and his eyes watered as he fought to keep his head up in spite of the wind, focused on the speck of black weaving its way out of the skyline.

Kaiba dug his heels along one of the ridges and locked his elbows as he raised himself up to see beyond the Blue Eyes' stretched neck. "They aren't far off. Follow the Red Eyes," Kaiba said. The dragon leaned to the side; Kaiba following suit as it passed through a narrow strip of buildings.

Kaiba's heart throbbed between excitement and fear. Excitement in wanting to know just how far _Invictus_ has rendered the dragons, how complete of specimens they truly were from their teeth to their tails. Fear in the very nature of dragons, and the dangers they posed. All the will in the world to research and experiment was less important than reclaiming Jounouchi. He would slay the Red Eyes if it was necessary.

The Blue Eyes stream-lined itself for speed, and they came close enough to the Red Eyes Jounouchi bearing his teeth, still fighting. They sidled beside one another, the Blue Eyes gliding several meters below. Enough that Kaiba was able to crawl to the nape of the dragon's neck and stretch himself out, his fingers clenching around the cuff of Jounouchi's pants and tugging. Jounouchi looked down,

"Hey!"

"Need a little help?"

"This ain't the time t' be an asshole!"

"Fine, I won't let you ride with me," Kaiba said. It made Jounouchi smile, but it was short lived.

Kaiba staggered, a sharp turn from the Red Eyes ripping Jounouchi away from him. His entire grip was lost, legs falling away from their hold around the dragon. Kaiba's lungs jumped into his throat, and his eyes squeezed closed, suddenly very aware of how far away from the ground he was.

He slid down its spine, body bumping along and slowed by its raised backplates. It gave him enough time to grapple onto the joint of the wing, body loose and hanging. He swung his legs up, hooking them along the ridge of its backplates. It gave him little breathing space, his lungs figuring out how to take in air again, and room to manoeuvre. His other hand, still clutching a piece of Jounouchi's pant leg, latched onto wing, and he leveraged himself upright, already searched the open sky. Kaiba frowned.

Jounouchi, and the Red Eyes, were far into the distance.

The adrenaline and rage fought each other, Kaiba's quivering hands balled into fists. "Follow them!" He said, leaning to the right side to nudge Blue Eyes along. It tilted to the left, gliding and slowing into a descent towards a coastline. "No! The other way!"

No matter how much Kaiba directed, the Blue Eyes didn't follow his command. It came to heavy landing in the sand near a boardwalk, trotting several paces and stopping at the entry point.

The brunet grit his teeth, nails digging into the dragon's hide. "Not here! They're somewhere else. We need to go back up now. Up!"

The dragon hissed, lowering itself rest in the sand. Kaiba planted his feet in the sand, holding his head in his hands, the scrap of Jounouchi's pant leg brushing along his brow. Even that small piece smelled like him.

This couldn't be happening. Jounouchi couldn't be lost in a place like this. There were no parameters on what might happen if they were at a distance, though he tried to keep calm and imagine that as long as they were both in there, it would still operate. He just didn't want Jounouchi to be alone, facing whatever dangers the game felt like throwing at him. A rabid Red Eyes was already too much. What could it do?

Kaiba shook his head and pulled out the map. A small chance existed that both of them could be tracked, that he could find Jounouchi. He zoomed out, eyes flicking from edge to edge, but there was still the single arrow and line drawn to stone piece.

He was right on top of it.

Sliding off the Blue Eyes, Kaiba lowered the map so he could look over the area. The sun was quickly falling, sinking into the water. Each step closer to the pier made was darker than the last, with it nearly nighttime once on it. Not even the moon showed; a few lights, dim-lit lanterns in doorways, hugged the path. 

Stopping in the middle of the boardwalk, Kaiba realised that it wasn't quite a boardwalk once inside. The buildings were civilian, old. Maybe even built mid-century. Tenement apartments, he thought, judging by numerous windows and doorways with different nameplates. Bountiful lines of laundry hung overhead, like flags. The short passage was thick with smoke and the stench of day-old garbage.

Bodies passed Kaiba by. Their heads down, hands in their pockets. Some disappeared into doorways, others into shadows of the alleys. When he tried to look through them, he couldn't find the ocean, though the waves crashed in the distance. Turning around, he assured himself that sand was in the distance, that he hadn't been transported into some mythical place or the game was suddenly morphing around him. Still there. Along with the glow of his dragon's blue eyes.

Kaiba continued down the narrowing path, consulting the map until he reached the point of the dot. He looked up. The building appeared more well lit than the rest, glowing with string lights. It's neon sign buzzed overhead, announcing that it was a bar, though the name of the bar was illegible.

It didn't matter. Kaiba was sure he was somewhere on the poor side of Domino, though his memory of the place was hazy. The children's home and Jounouchi's old apartment were the only prominent places.

The map was tucked into his pocket, and Kaiba entered the bar, the bell ringing. There were several bodies, but none of them raised their heads to him. Not even the mama behind the bar, serving a drink to a patron on the end and laughing with him.

Soft piano music played from somewhere. A few voices murmured to one another; glasses tapped on wooden tables. The shard was somewhere in here. Somewhere. It was small; he could survey the whole room with a turn of the head, and once in the centre, could gather that nothing stood out as a shard. So many things shined, even in dim light. The glasses, liquor bottles, chipped gold edging on the bar and it's stools. But while he didn't catch the shine of a shard, he did see one particular patron huddled in the corner. One hand on a magazine, balling a page tight in his fist, the other wrapped around a beer bottle. Even with his head down, the mop of blond hair was unmistakable. Jounouchi.

Not the Jounouchi that Kaiba was looking for. This was another mannequin, dressed in an oversized hoodie and jeans.

Stepping up to the mannequin, Kaiba arched around, looking at the magazine. It was crisp and clear, every character. A brazen picture of their break-up taking an entire page. The mannequin's hand was gripped tight around the page, crinkling it. Kaiba settled his hand over the mannequin's, the fingers coming to life and tightening on the page until it ripped out. He balled it into his fist.

This wasn't a memory Kaiba was a part of, though it was after the break-up. Fresh after. Pressing his lips together, Kaiba backed away from Jounouchi. Watching him as he tore out another page, tossed it to the ground. Took a sip of the beer. While he inflicted his fury on the magazine, something more subdued hung around in eyes. The lids were heavy and dark, the eyes bloodshot.

"Why are you so upset?" Kaiba asked aloud. Not that Jounouchi would hear him. "It wasn't like I was the one that hit you; I didn't throw the ring on the ground in front of everyone, either."

Those words burned. Kaiba knew the counterargument, could play it out in his head, but Jounouchi wasn't going to say anything in return. He did look up, as if staring at Kaiba for a moment as he took a drink. The bell on the door rang, and Jounouchi's face seemed to lighten. It made Kaiba turn. He expected Yuugi, or Mazaki. Maybe Honda.

Mai.

Kaiba tensed, digging his nails into his elbow. "This ought to be good."

She sauntered through, sitting down at Jounouchi's table and dropping her purse on the floor. Never had he seen a pair of people look at each other with such defeat, sharing a dialogue of sighs and slumped shoulders.

The silence was terse at best, with both the blonds searching for something to say, coming up short even though he could see where Jounouchi tried to say something and bit it back. Instead, he kept looking to the magazine, tearing the corner of a page.

"Ugh, you won't believe the e-mails I got this morning," Mai said, taking it upon herself to start the conversation. Jounouchi looked at her from beyond the beer bottle, brow quirked. "I was dropped from the KC sponsorship. Citing 'lack of performance'. What a load of bull."

"Covering his ass."

"I know," Mai said. "I was also given a friendly reminder of our non-compete agreement."

Jounouchi snorted. "Wow. Goin' all out t' make sure if you ain't duelin' for him, ya ain't doin' it for anyone else, huh?"

"Jokes on him. There are plenty of ways to make money; I went a long time without a sponsorship, and Duel Monsters is not the only card game I can do it with," Mai said. The mama stepped out from behind the bar, and Mai ordered a drink. They sat in silence, with Mai's face falling the longer they sat. "So, what's up hun you...you holding up, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Jounouchi replied, turning his attention back to the magazine. Another page was torn out and balled up in his hand. He threw it to the floor. "Somethin' like that."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

Kaiba moved to the side, catching as Mai bowed her head. A subdued smile appeared as her drink was brought out to her. Jounouchi balled another page of magazine in his hand. "I'm here to listen. That is why you called me, right?"

"I did but," Jounouchi sighed. "I dunno why."

"Jou..."

"I mean, I'm basically proving his point, ain't I?"

"Not at all."

"There's prolly some reporter out there that saw you an' me come in here. I'm gonna be in another one of these," Jounouchi said, brandishing the magazine. It flopped onto the tabletop. "Can't say nothin' to the leeches, neither. They'll just take everythin' I say an' twist it."

Mai scooped up the magazine. "You should stop reading these."

"I can't."

"They're not on anyone's side."

"You're startin' to sound like him."

"Don't compare me to that prick," Mai said. She dropped the magazine in her lap. "I'm a step up compared to him."

Kaiba took another step closer, brushing the edge of the table. His body trembled, his toes curling in anticipation. "Admit it to me. Just admit it. I wasn't wrong, you two were really doing something behind my back."

Jounouchi leaned back, the beer pulled along with him. "Don't say that, Mai. I was with the man for six years," Jounouchi said. He laughed, short and breathy. "Six years. Shit, six years, right down the crapper. Every time I think about that it jus'..." Another swig was taken from the beer.

"Its a long time."

"Yeah. Longer than high school. An' I mean, if ya count all the time in high school, an' all that crazy stuff with Yuugi, it's way longer than that."

"You two didn't get along then," Mai said.

Jounouchi shrugged. "We don't get along now either. Still don't mean I haven't spent, like, a good chunk of my life around him. What am I s'pose to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"With life? What am I s'pose to do? I thought I was gonna marry him, Mai. I had all these ideas in my head, I..."Jounouchi buried his face in his hands. "I keep thinkin' about these crazy things. Me and Mokuba had worked on getting the orphanage in tip top shape, always makin' sure that those kids were taken care of. Me and Seto talked about kids, sometimes. Did ya know that?"

Mai frowned. "No, you didn't mention it."

"I was thinkin' after we did the whole ceremony thing, maybe that'd be the next thing. I had gotten so close to those kids. All of 'em. I was watchin' 'em grow up," Jounouchi paused. "I watched Moki grow up. I watched him go from this little squirt to...to bein' as tall as me." Jounouchi's hand had drifted up to his head, hanging there for a second. It lowered to his knee.

Mai's eyes half-lidded. "Oh, hun, you can't think about those things."

"How can't I?"

"You just have to look ahead."

Jounouchi snorted. His hand swept up through his hair. "Yeah, easy for you to say...you ain't the one who fucked up."

Mai touched Jounouchi's hand, drawing it from his knee. "I am just as responsible as you are. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

"Why? Nothin' happened between us."

"Might have been easier," Mai said.

Jounouchi grinned, small. "Maybe."

Kaiba could barely keep himself upright. His uneasiness had been teetering back and forth, wanting definitive proof of their affair as much as he wanted it to be denied. Upon hearing it, his arms gave out, his elbows hitting the table. He could have kept denying it to himself, but if this really was a memory, then it was as honest as the others they'd witnessed.

"Then blame him. He didn't have to say anything to you. Especially not then. Why did he have to have _that_ discussion right then? Where everyone could hear?" Mai asked. She cupped Jounouchi's hand in hers, but he pulled it away, settling it on his face.

"Because he's a prick."

"Right."

"An' he's always gotta be right, even when he ain't."

Mai nodded. "And?"

"And I put up with that kind of shit for years, and it never got any better. Don't know why I thought I could change the man. He's got the emotional range of a hard boiled egg sometimes." Jounouchi said. Mai smiled, satisfied with her work. "I always spent so much damn time makin' sure I never did nothin' wrong, that we were always happy an' that I was always to his standards an' it jus' never fuckin' mattered. Mai, none of it mattered! He still found somethin' wrong and picked and picked and picked until it was jus'...until he was so sure he was right."

"Let it out, sweetheart."

"I always told myself I would never let him break me. He fuckin' broke me. He found the right damn button to press. That's the problem, Mai. He always knew what would set me off, because I always knew how to set him off. We knew each other too well. I was with him so long that he knew jus' the right way to make me angry. An' he'd do it when he wanted to win an argument...an' I'd do it when I wanted to win an' argument. We...we didn't always do that. We didn't always push each other so much but sometimes, it jus' didn't feel like he was listenin' so I had to push. I had to do everythin' I could..."

Jounouchi pressed the butt of his palms into his eyes and scrunched his face up until it turned red. It didn't stop the tears from slipping from between his fingers. A haggard sigh escaped before he began to hold his breath again. It came out in short bursts, hiding the sobs. "I loved him, Mai. But I hated him so much. I was so happy to hit him. I had been holdin' it back for so long."

"I'm sure."

"I got what I wanted. All the hate is gone. All gone," Jounouchi said. His hands dropped from his face as he stifled the hiccups. "But so's the ring...I...He got me so mad he jus' made me question everythin' an' I jus'...threw the ring away."

"You did what you needed to do for you."

"No! No, I didn't need that. I needed..."Jounouchi paused. "I dunno what I needed. Not that. Not bein' so fuckin' stupid. Not throwin' the ring away like it was trash. It was everythin'. 'Undefeated love' we said, 'cause of all the stupid shit we went through..."Jounouchi sighed, hiccuping it into a sob that he tried to suck back.

Mai pulled up her purse, pulling tissues out and handing them to Jounouchi. "It'll get easier."

A bundle of tissues was pressed to Jounouchi's nose. "I jus' wanna go back. I want to crawl into bed an' tell him I love him, tell him I'm sorry. But I can't, because he hates me now, too. I got what I wanted." Jounouchi's head sunk to the table, resting on his arms. "I fucked up so bad, Mai. So bad..."

Kaiba was comfortably numb, but oddly satisfied; he stood, disarticulate, but searching for words as the memory of Jounouchi sobbed in front of him. Words that would bring no comfort to the memory, but that he could carry with him when he saw Jounouchi again. He could understand the power behind the moment lodged deep in a seedy bar; it wasn't something he could see Jounouchi admitting to him no matter how deep he bore his questions.

"Somewhere along the line, I made you hate me," Kaiba said. He had done it with no ceremony, no reason. Slow and deliberate, with plenty of words and lack of action. Kaiba had never aimed to be so cruel; the days of being a hot-blooded, unhinged teenager had passed. "I didn't mean it. But I didn't stop it, did I?"

The memory began to fade away, but not before Jounouchi turned his head against his arms. Another tear slipped out, the remnants of memory fizzling to dust. Only the tear remained, hopping on the shellacked table top. A shard.

Kaiba swept it up, pinching it between his fingers until the sharp edges pierced his skin. It was painful just how calculated these dreams were. Before he broke the shard any further, it materialised a box around it and tucked it in his pocket. He left the bar, quiet. That was enough of this place.

The map was pulled out, and the timer consulted.

_2hr 32m...52s...51s...50s..._

Time was speeding up. He had to find Jounouchi.

* * *

Everything happened like a blur. Instinct ran through Mokuba, demanding he take control and help Seto, just as he had in the past. He told himself this wasn't the same. It wasn't. This was just a freak thing and Seto would wake up any moment.

Before he knew it, they were back at the KaibaCorp infirmary, with Mokuba reasoning that putting the headsets closer would help Seto somehow. The only difference seemed to be in Jounouchi. He was still laid on his side, but the convulsing has stopped, leaving his eyes partially open and staring, absent, outwards. The younger Kaiba tried not to look.

Mokuba paced, his hands rubbing the sides of his neck until it burned. The doctor was running Seto through all the tests that, at one point, he had performed on Jounouchi to test his functionality. Were Seto awake, Mokuba knew how much he would complain about being poked and prodded. And about how exposed he was to someone like Usami. In his haste to leave, Mokuba hadn't tried to change Seto from his night clothes. He had hardly touched him once he had made the phone calls, afraid that he might cause any worsening problems.

Usami straightened from the bed. The pacing stopped.

"Well?" Mokuba asked.

"Physically, he's healthy."

"So it hasn't hurt him?"

Usami shook his head. "His heart and lungs sound fine, and his nervous system responses are in tact. He's responding to painful stimuli, even withdrawing from them, but they don't wake him up."

"Then what's going on?"

Mokuba inched closer to the bed and, with as much care as he could manage to not touch Seto, pulled the knit blanket over him where Usami had bunched it to the side. "I'm not sure."

"Then make your best guess."

"Mokuba-san, I don't think there's—"

"That's not a guess," Mokuba snapped. "Tell me something! Anything."

"I don't think I have an answer," Usami sighed. "Not one that will make much sense. What's going on here is like middle ground. It's not asleep, but he's not comatose, either. His heart and brain functions suggest that he's very near a level of consciousness, in fact."

"So why can't we wake him up?"

" _Invictus_."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no duh. That's kinda obvious..."

"Well, I had been attempting to discuss this with Kaiba-san," Usami added. "There were abnormal test results. When he was testing with Jounouchi-san, I noticed that the length of his REM sleep was longer than it should have been. Considerably. It seemed to grow with each passing test, but before, we had control because he was sedated. Now, I think _Invictus_ is somehow keeping him in this state to prolong the dream."

"That shouldn't keep him asleep. Anything should wake him up, end the program."

"I don't know if it's the cause, but I don't think that it's helping his situation," Usami said. "Like I said. He's in some middle ground...the prognosis is good. He has a chance of waking up if this is just pure exhaustion. For his safety, I would say we take the headset off. If he's not attached to it, it may wake him."

"Or it may make it worse, though," Mokuba said.

Usami nodded. "It could, but..."

"Or it could do nothing at all, and then Jou may not wake up either. Then they're both stuck and this is pointless." Mokuba bit down on his lip, weighing the options. As he did, Jounouchi inhaled sharply, his eyes squeezing closed. At least Jounouchi was expressive now, he had no idea if Seto was in pain.

"What are we doing, Mokuba-san?"

Pulling a chair between the two beds, Mokuba found an even space between the pair. He reached one hand out to touch Seto's. "My nii-sama is strong," he said, reaching the other. hand out to touch Jounouchi's, "and so is Jou. They'll figure this out. I...I have to trust them."

Mokuba squeezed their hands and prayed he was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously...Jounouchi is somewhere, right? Gotta wonder what sorta memory he’s about to run into..especially without Kaiba around. 
> 
> Think Mokuba made the right decision? 
> 
> Thank for all the kudos and reviews. I always love them! Special shoutout to TwoTrucks for somehow reading my mind on something that would never have any foreshadowing! xD 
> 
> See you next Tuesday!


	11. And Yet the Menace of the Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by ‘Superman’ by Five for Fighting.

Screaming and kicking were exhausting, Jounouchi concluded. His rubbed raw voice and lead-heavy legs said so; he no longer cycled around to try and find the ground beneath him. It was down. So far down that everything around him made him nothing more than a mite—he was infinitely small in the hold of the Red Eyes who, along the way, had curled its back feet inwards to shield him from the heavier winds.

Jounouchi's eyes drooped, and his head lulled back, though he forced them open in spite the comfortable instinct to drift off. Asleep in a dream; asleep in a coma. He always had to admit that detail to himself again and again, to realise that his surroundings were the most vivid dream he'd ever had.

Everything seemed real, so very unmistakably real and yet he couldn't shake the sensation that he was floating along, taking things as they came at him because that was the only choice he had. What was fun, and what was necessary, may have gone hand-in-hand in the end, so far as he knew. The only distinguishing fact that this wasn't as real as he could have hoped were the long hours he had been left alone, unable to speak to anyone or conjure someone to feign interest in a conversation. The mannequins weren't doing any talking. What was the point of a populated city, of all its glittering attractions and its endless possibilities if there was no one to share it with? Then it just became hollow. Beautifully, hauntingly hollow.

Jounouchi rolled his shoulders and widened his eyes to try and combat the haziness in his brain. Enough to focus on the fact that he was, again, alone. That he had been ripped away from the only thing that made sense to him in this world.

"Seto..." he murmured.

Never once had Jounouchi imagined he would dream of Seto with such vigour, in full Technicolor, with every nuance of his shaded character intact. All the things that endeared him were still present: the obnoxious eye-rolls and the over-loud scoffs; the gentle smiles and the curious, tempted looks out of the corner of his eyes; the child-like fervour and relentless passion for everything he stood for, rambling on and on about the technicals of his game world as if nothing else mattered. It was as if Jounouchi had never left Seto's side and still used him as a touchstone.

But this couldn't be real.

A game inside a dream inside a coma? That was as much as Jounouchi had understood, no matter how Seto phrased it, again and again. He was only certain one of those things was true: he _was_ in a coma. The rest of it, no matter how nice it smelled and sounded and felt, couldn't have been anything more than whatever weird way his broken mind used to find a way out. And it was a way that he was willing to follow, because otherwise he was just sitting and waiting for something to happen, which wasn't how things got done. He had to carve his own way, even if that meant to consciousness.

But finding a way out with Seto? A _willing_ Seto, despite his initial vehemence? That just broke whatever happy illusion Jounouchi had in the first place.

Jounouchi's hands slipped further up on the Red Eyes' leg, readjusting himself as they began to lower towards the ground.

A fluttered feeling bloomed in his stomach as the ground approached them at break-neck speed. He curled his legs up as the Red Eyes' landed, hard, skidding on one foot, loosing rocks from the nearby cliff side.

The talons uncurled from Jounouchi's chest, and he dropped the remaining foot to the ground. Heavy legs collapsed beneath him, and Jounouchi landed on his hands and knees. He turned over, sitting in the grass.

"Well, where the hell are we?" Jounouchi asked.

The Red Eyes growled, looking off to the side. Jounouchi followed its gaze, looking over the steep cliffside. A long stretch of mountain sloped below. The city was a spiked outline in the distance. From this height he could see the expanse of dilapidated technology apparent throughout the world. Large pillars, like telephone wires, poked up but broken at certain intervals. The sun shone off of closer domed buildings somewhere in the middle of the forest, lush and green.

"Why ya bring me here, huh?" Jounouchi asked. He picked himself up, wobbling on sore legs. The Red Eyes growled again, hunkering down on its haunches. "Yeah...guessin' ya didn't bring me to Seto, did ya?" Another snort.

Cold air touched the space on his ankle where Seto had gripped tight to his pant leg and ripped the fabric away. There were bright, red slashes where his nails had dug in, now healing. It wasn't like Seto hadn't tried. The Red Eyes had other plans which, as he looked around the slim cliff-edge, didn't feel apparent other than the wide view.

"I was havin' fun, ya know," Jounouchi said. His hands tucked into his pockets. "With Seto. I mean, I know he ain't real or nothin', but that don't mean I want it to stop. Ya coulda left me with him."

It socked him in the gut to admit what he'd been feeling since Seto appeared. Even so, it was nice. Having Seto holding his hand, take care of him gingerly, and kiss him passionately, were all nice. It was the kind of dream that Jounouchi could get behind and dwell in if it meant never waking up again. It reminded him of simpler days, when the hardest thing he had to do was just be on time. There was no money, no bad feelings, no worry. But that was what made this world, and the Seto he fabricated, so glaringly wrong and unbelievable. For everything that Jounouchi knew he had right, a million things were also wrong.

The Seto he knew, and the Seto that he had loved, wasn't as sentimental as he was appearing in this place. While the skin, the walk, and the talk (down to the biting anger) were all the same, the subtle way that he had slipped into walking down memory lane and egged Jounouchi on towards his goal didn't make any sense. From his talks with Mokuba, no matter how short they were, it was obvious that Seto had burned his bridges.

The Red Eyes picked itself up and brushed by Jounouchi, following the thin path along the edge of the cliff. Jounouchi followed, glancing over his shoulder at the landscape. Whatever. Might as well follow the dragon; it had dragged him all the way here anyways.

"If this were a good dream, you'd talk back to me. Least that way I wasn't alone on top of a mountain; like, I need someone t' talk to 'bout this. Can't you be Mai or somethin' instead?" Jounouchi asked. The Red Eyes snorted, evening its pace as the path became more narrow. "Better yet, be Moki. That would be fuckin' perfect. Mai would jus' bash Seto an' then I'd be sittin' here wantin' another drink..."

As if he drank any less with Mokuba. The kid was more than willing to drive headfirst into any wild bar in Domino, just because. Mokuba knew a party scene, and he was willing to pay a cover charge, too. "Eh...maybe neither of them's a good choice. Ain't like I'd get anywhere with Moki, either."

The Red Eyes looked over its wing and, while Jounouchi didn't know if it was really listening, he took the gaze as questioning. Why not talk to a dragon? He was talking to himself anyways. "Why not? 'Cause I don't want him doin' damage control. That's what my liver's for."

A small huff from the Red Eyes. Jounouchi rolled his eyes, laughed breathy at himself. His arms crossed over his chest as the temperature dropped.

"I know, I know. Jus' like the old man, huh? Ain't moved on from a fuck-up like a normal person..."Jounouchi said. "Where's the time? I'm always workin' anymore. Tournaments and side-jobs. I was s'pose to go talk to Yamaguchi 'bout that construction thing. Guess I missed that. However long I've been out—prolly missed the Internationals, too. Fuckin' shame, I had that one in the bag. No Yuugi, no Seto. Bet they're still thick as thieves...good for Yuug', but..."

Was he any better than Seto? Never had he considered that Seto would be the cheating sort. The man was far too loyal and slow to trust that he wouldn't be shameless and bring that pain on anyone else. But after, Jounouchi supposed anyone was fair game. It wasn't like Yuugi had been chasing his feelings for Anzu.

Jounouchi shook his head, ridiculous. Seto wasn't the kind of person who rebounded for revenge; he barely managed a relationship!

But even if he was, what did it matter? All was after the fact, and whatever madness Seto had conjured in their relationship was almost justified. Infuriating, but justified. Through plenty of drinking binges and thought-filled stares at popcorn ceilings, he realised that the worst offence he could have committed was breaking Seto's trust. Not that he had. Not that he, maybe, realised he had. But Seto was so afraid, or perhaps so used to betrayal, he was willing to manifest it when it wasn't there.

Jounouchi sighed. "I made him afraid of that in some fuckin' way, didn't I?"

Jounouchi stalled as the Red Eyes did, standing at the path's end. A sea of fog had rolled in, leaving no discernible bottom to be found. To their left, a thin set of stairs were carved out.

The view up the stairs had the crown of a tower poking up over the edge, just enough for him to be curious and begin to walk towards it. With one foot on the step, he looked back at the Red Eyes. "Why do I gotta go up there? Can't I like...wait? Ain't Seto gonna pop up here in a sec?"

The Red Eyes' tail swung out, the pointed tip poking Jounouchi in the small of the back. He hopped up several more steps.

"Alright, alright. Pushy dragon. Sheesh."

The ascent was quick, hopping up two steps at a time, and at the top he was greeted by a round, grassy plateau. An old wooden shine stood beyond a weathered  _torii_ gate. He stepped beneath, his head bowed and eyes closed. Wind chimes jingled. Wood boards creaked.

The stairs had give as he stepped up them, treading lightly until he got to the doors. There was faint noise beyond them. The outline of voices, music filtering through the cracks. He threw the door open, a burst of warm air greeting. From the inside, there were no signs of a shrine. No paintings, drums, or alters, although there was the faint scent of sandalwood. But then, he'd smelled that in the estate before too. Instead, it was a long, tile hall with an ornate runner heading to a door left ajar.

Jounouchi stepped inside, and the door slammed behind him. Shivers ran up his spine, and he hustled down the short hall until he reached the door, stopping at a crossroads. Another hall stretched infinitely either way, but the more he looked around, the more he recognised the space.

This was the inside of the manor, with its boring paintings hung sparingly, a few simple vases to decorate end tables he remembered Mokuba clipping on more than one occasion. He turned to the corridor to the left, seeing where there was a tote box laying in front of a door. A jacket was tossed into it, hanging off the side.

Jounouchi tried to step towards it but was stopped, his hands pressing against a wobbled barrier. He sighed. "Gotta go in _that_ door, don't I?"

The door was unmistakable. Seto's home office. How many times he he stared at its twirled gold handle, the grains of the wood (there was a face in the corner if he squinted the right way) waiting for the right moment to burst through?

Jounouchi pushed the door the rest of the way open, steeling his nerves for what he might meet. He expected an inky monster to jump to him, pin him to the ground and try to eat him, because why wouldn't a monster be waiting in such an obvious place? But it was just the office, same as it ever was. Complete with a mannequin of the CEO leaned back in his chair, hands folded over his stomach. Soulless, head canted towards the computer screen. A perky woman's voice, some kind of entertainment journalist, filled the room.

" _...speculation regarding the events that occurred at a recent Kaiba Corporation publicity have grown even stronger after reported sightings of one Jounouchi Katsuya and Kujaku Mai seen together not long after Kujaku-san was let go from the KC roster..."_

Jounouchi rounded the desk. There was nothing distinguishable on the computer other than a few moving blobs.

" _There still isn't any word from Kaiba-sama or his team. Boo!"_ Another girl's voice added. " _So sad, everyone wants to know, Kaiba-sama! Are you a free man now? And oh...what did you do? That slap had to hurt..."_

"You didn't listen to this crap, did ya?" Jounouchi asked.

Standing behind the mannequin, unease boiling in his stomach, Jounouchi reached to touch its shoulder. It flinched beneath him, taking Jounouchi aback. He watched as Seto slammed the laptop close, his hand forming in a fist overtop of it.

"Ya know, I'm surprised that ya never really answered the vultures," Jounouchi said. "I couldn't keep them off my back, I can't imagine what you musta been goin' through."

Jounouchi roamed the room to make distance, walking about it and admiring it in a way that he would have before, taking up residence on one of the couches while he waited for Seto to decide that it was time to go to bed.

The nostalgia, the details, told him this was a memory, but it was a weird one. Seto just sitting in his office, ready to punch his computer. Looking back, Seto had shifted to work viciously on something, making quick lines on a tablet. "That's right, dive back into work. That'll make it all better. Sure it helped ya loads—wasn't any different than before. Ya just didn't have no one to bother ya now."

The room was so simple to observe, but at a distance, he noticed it's disarray. The papers that were strewn all over the floor. The mess of details on a whiteboard in the corner, half wiped away with a handprint. He could make out Romanised letters, though, and frowned.

_Invictus._

The half smudged design showed a basic VR headset, something that reminded him of the holographic Duel Disk's headset design, modified. There were curious questions surrounding it that Jounouchi squinted to read.

_Memory access? Modification?—is this amnesia?_

_Dream control? Control nightmares?_

— _requires subconscious._

"What...were you doing?" Jounouchi asked aloud.

The door beside him opened up. The tote box he saw in the hall entered first, followed by Mokuba.

"Nii-sama?"

"Mm.”

"You okay?"

Seto didn't look up, just kept scribbling on the tablet. "I am."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

The tote box was set on the edge of Seto's desk, displayed to him. H _e_ still didn't look up, adding a few flourish to his pen strokes. "You're for sure?"

Seto sighed. "What do you want?"

"Just..."Mokuba swallowed and pushed the tote closer. Then, with it bared in his face, did Seto look up. But he didn't react. "I wanted to know what you wanna do with this stuff here. I've been pulling it out of your bedroom. Figured that's why you haven't been sleeping in there and..."

"I've been busy," Seto said.

Mokuba snorted. "Yeah, that's why you haven't been to work..."

Seto? Not at work? That was new.

Jounouchi furrowed his brows and stepped closer to the desk, standing alongside Mokuba. There was a divot in his cheek, where he may have thought he said the wrong thing, but Jounouchi knew how headstrong Mokuba could be. Especially with his older brother.

"I took a vacation,” Seto said. 

"You don't take vacations."

"Well, I am now." Seto leaned back in his seat, the stylus playing between his fingers.

"Then you should sleep. In your bed. Like a normal person," Mokuba urged. He and Seto bared glances towards each other that made Jounouchi shudder. "Or was it because all of this was in there?"

Seto raised a brow. "It has nothing to do with Jounouchi."

"Katsuya."

"Jounouchi."

Mokuba frowned and shoved the tote even closer, slipping the tablet into Seto's lap. "His name is Katsuya. You've called him Katsuya for years, nii-sama. He doesn't just become...nothing."

"I disagree."

"Too bad!"

Seto pushed the tote back towards Mokuba, his hand heavy on the coat that still hung from the edges. His fist balled into it, not letting go for a few seconds. "He became nothing when he lashed out like a moron."

"That's not his fault," Mokuba said.

"Of course it is."

"Nii-sama...!"

"He showed his true colours, acted out like the guilty party he is," Seto said. Jounouchi's jaw clenched, and he looked to his shoes. "That's all I needed to see."

"He's not the moron."

Seto's eyes thinned. "Excuse me?"

"I said: he's not the moron, nii-sama," Mokuba said, firm. Resolute. "You are. Who just goes out of their way to accuse someone of cheating? What did you expect from him, a civil conversation? Hello, Earth to Seto, did you even think about what you were saying?"

"That's enough."

"It came out of nowhere!"

"No, it didn't."

Mokuba crossed his arms. "Yeah, right."

"It didn't," said Seto. His hands were flat on the desk, his head turned away, occasionally flicking up to look at the tote. It was pushed further away. Mokuba pushed it back again. "But that doesn't matter. I'll make all those thoughts go away soon enough."

Silence drew between them, with Mokuba staring at Seto's profile as it slipped from anger to something more passive. Thought-filled. Mokuba bit his lip. "Nii-sama, look, I know it hurts but you don't have to forget everything."

"Yes, I do."

"Not everything was bad."

Seto's eyes squeezed closed, shielding them with his hand. "Mokuba, please stop talking."

"So all of this needs to be forgotten?" Mokuba asked. He rifled through contents of the tote, spreading the jacket over Seto's desk.

"Mokuba, stop..."

"The watch you gave him on your first anniversary?" Mokuba asked, drawing out a gold watch and laying it on the jacket. Seto's lips pinched. "You agonised over whether he'd like it or not, you're going to forget that?"

"Yes."

The watch was set down. Cuff-links were pulled out. "Okay, how about these? You said they matched his eyes, so he always wore them. You're not going to remember him caring enough to do that?"

"Easily."

The cuff-links were set down. Several bottles were pulled out. "The cologne he wears? You're gonna forget how much you like that smell?"

"With...pleasure..."Seto said through grit teeth.

Jounouchi stepped closer to Seto, kneeling by the executive to get a better look at his pinched face. The remains of tears that were hiding beneath his lashes as Mokuba listed each of the items, putting them in a neat line on the desk. Anger danced across Seto's cheekbones, twitched in his lips. The butt of his palm wiped away any remnants of sadness.

"So then I guess this will be forgotten 'with pleasure' too, then?" Mokuba asked, displaying the ring between pinched, shaking fingers.

Seto jumped from his chair, reaching across to snatch the ring. Violently, Mokuba recoiled backwards, almost falling over. He coveted the ring between both hands. That Seto nearly jumped over his desk, thrusting most of the tote's items on the floor, startling Jounouchi to back away. "Give it to me."

"Why?"

Seto thrust his hand out. "Mokuba, give me the ring."

"Tell me why you want it first."

"No."

"Is it because you _do_ want to remember Jou?" asked Mokuba. His hands opened up just enough to show the ring, enough for Seto to flinch forward. The ring was clasped tight again.

"Not a chance," Seto barked. He turned back to his desk, a hand on the edge of the tote. "I want nothing to do with him anymore. Nothing. Not a word, not a sight, not a sound..." the items on the desk were thrown into the tote as hard as Seto could manage, assuring that something had become broken in the process. But he didn't care; Jounouchi could see the fervour in his eyes. He was enjoying himself. "Not a memory."

"Nii-sama, you don't mean that," Mokuba said.

Seto threw the tote onto the ground violently enough to crack one of the corners. "Try me."

"You can't just make memories go away."

"I can, and I will," Seto replied. He stepped away from the tote and towards the whiteboard that Jounouchi had been staring at before. "I will make sure not one speck of Jounouchi remains in my mind. I've already figured out a way."

"That's ...that's not possible nii-sama."

Seto laughed. "I can already access my memories. All I have to do is pull them out, isolate them from the rest of me," Jounouchi couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't move. He shivered in place, using the desk for support while Seto admired his handiwork. "Then I'll forget him completely."

Jounouchi shook his head, a hiccup bubbling in his chest. He had to swallow all of that sorrow, convince himself that this wasn't real. This was just another terrible part of this dream-like world. What was a dream without nightmares?

"You bastard," Jounouchi said, voice struggling. "Of course you were gonna forget me; ya can't have feelin's like a normal person, can ya!" The nightmares didn't make him any less hateful, wanting to spit at Seto. Hit him again, this time with more force.

Mokuba crossed in front of Jounouchi to stand beside Seto and overlook the whiteboard, glancing at the schematics. "What if he came and asked for forgiveness?"

"He won't. He's too stubborn."

"But if he did?" Mokuba asked. "What would you do?"

Seto paused. Considerably enough that Mokuba slid a little closer, looking up and waiting. "Enough nonsense," he said, deflecting.

"You would, wouldn't you? After you yelled at him a bit," Mokuba said, with just enough confidence that he almost sounded happy. And that Seto grinned for half a second.

It faded, however, as Seto looked back to the whiteboard. "It won't matter. I won't remember him then."

Mokuba sighed. "This won't work."

"It will."

"You can't erase everything," Mokuba said. "You won't have any memory left, Seto. And I mean, even if you did manage that, other people still remember. I still remember."

Seto's head bowed. "You're not going to talk to me about him."

"Nii-sama..."

"I forbid it. I don't want to hear another word about him," Seto said, his voice breaking.

Mokuba reached over, touching his brother's wrist gently. "Only if you promise you won't do something this stupid."

"I've already started."

Mokuba sighed. "No more. Whatever you pulled out, just stop. Do something else with it. Promise me that, and I'll never mention Jou again. He didn't exist; there was never a relationship."

"Fine," Seto nodded. "But, give me the ring."

"What ring?" Mokuba asked. A small smirk formed on Seto's face as Mokuba walked away, going back to the tote and picking it up. "I'm going to bed. You should too; since you're on vacation or whatever."

Jounouchi's arms slid out across the desk, wide enough that his head touched the surface, kowtowing. His breathing uneven and the tears building behind his eyelids as he fought them. He was not upset, not in the slightest. He was so angry that it came out any way it could. He couldn't even comprehend this insanity. This nightmare.

This memory.

Seto turned from the whiteboard and stepped back to the desk, sitting down. Jounouchi's head lifted up enough to catch Seto pull out his locket and pop it open. He stared at it for the longest time with thinned lips. His fingernail slid into the left panel, flicking out a small photo. It fluttered to the desk.

Jounouchi raised his head, brows furrowed. The photograph popped out where it had been folded, a quick snapshot taken by Mokuba. It was him and Seto together, though it appeared that Seto had folded it so that just Jounouchi, with his winking face and cheek-splitting grin, was front and centre. He hardly remembered when it had happened, and didn't think much of the picture, either. Certainly, he didn't think it had made its way into Seto's locket.

"You had such a place, Katsuya," Seto said. He picked up the photo, crumbling it between his hands. Seto's forehead rested against his clasped hands. A haggard breath, shaken, escaped him. "You have no idea...I forgot to tell you. You wouldn't have cared anyways."

"'Course I woulda..."Jounouchi said.

The picture was crinkled and crushed further, until Seto's palms touched one another. Slowly, his hands lowered, and the crumbled photograph and flattened out with the ball of Seto's palm. As well as it could have been, given its new torn condition. After, Seto was quick to fold it again. Mokuba's picture was removed, and Jounouchi's was placed behind it, pressed in with a thumbnail. Mokuba's picture was replaced over it.

"You're still be there to remind me, Katsuya. That's what you would do, find a way to remind me, even when I forgot," Seto said. The locket was closed. Seto sighed, leaning against his desk and opening his laptop again. He went back to work, back to the soulless expression that Jounouchi saw before. But in the glare of the computer screen, he saw a single tear escape, drip down Seto's cheek and off his chin.

It landed on the desk with a gentle beat, bouncing across and settling next to Jounouchi.

A shard.

Jounouchi swept it off the desk carefully, shaking it in his palm to feel it roll around. When he looked back up, Seto was fizzling away, leaving only a dim skeleton of the office.

Turning away, Jounouchi left out of the room, looking over his shoulder as if Seto would suddenly reappear. As if he could end up watching the scene again, maybe understand it better. There were so many questions, intensified by the maelstrom in his stomach. The conflicted feelings that Seto showed him, ever the layered individual incapable of admitting how he really felt.

Everything replayed in Jounouchi's mind as he trudged down the stairs, mindless of where he was walking, thinking he may just walk off the cliffside and not notice. But he did stall at the end of the steps, the Red Eyes' tail crossed in front of it. It had hunkered down, falling asleep against the shallow path.

Something else had appeared while he was gone. A small bus stop bench, complete with glass awning. Jounouchi collapsed on it. "Checkpoint. Hurrah."

The shard shook in his hand, demanding to be with the ring. Not yet.

Night had fallen over the valley, with little glowing lights somewhere far in the forest. They were small, far and few between, and he considered what ramifications there would be if he just forgot about his task and jumped off the cliffside, down into the abyss. It would be easy. It was so close, enticing and curious. It would wake him up from this hazy dream-turning-nightmare, let him live his life again.

Whatever life that was, where he hadn't gotten past his fuck-up, just rolled with the punches. But at least he didn't seem alone. The pieces Seto left behind had been tossed into the wind with such a heartless accusation and yet, he found comfort knowing he had hurt Seto just as badly. That he left Seto wanting something more, willing to accept forgiveness, maybe. If Jounouchi understood the memory.

The key was dug out and upon opening his fist the shard flung into the inset, nestling against the other piece.

His arm began to raise up as the key started to have a mind of its own. "Make sure ya bring Seto to wherever the hell your takin' me! This is about us, after all!"

Maybe this Seto was real. And this Seto would remember everything, even if Jounouchi didn't.

God, he hoped so.

* * *

 

Mokuba stretched, stiffened from the odd position he had taken while sitting between Jounouchi and his brother. It was still early morning, but the doors had slid open.

Blinking the last of the sleep away, Mokuba stood and patted the wrinkles out of his clothes, expecting either Isono or Usami. Instead, he saw Shizuka and Yuugi, both staring before looking at one another in confusion.

"Are...we interrupting a test?" Shizuka asked.

"No," Mokuba replied. He looked back to Seto. "Well, kinda. But...it's um, it's okay. Come on in. I was just..." Mokuba trailed off, too soon from sleep and too frantic to try and shield his brother from the unexpected visitors.

Yuugi walked over to Mokuba, looking him in the eye as he asked: "Is everything okay?"

Again, Mokuba looked back to Seto, this time with less confidence. Of all the people who could have seen Seto this way, Yuugi would be the least judgemental. Still, he grimaced, pulling back any of his fear and sadness. Be positive. "It will be."

"Are you sure?"

Mokuba nodded. "I think so."

Yuugi gave him demure smile before he leaned to look at Seto. "Is there anything we can do to help Kaiba-kun?"

"I dunno," Mokuba said. He found himself falling back into the chair, ankles crossed, feigning consideration of the question without the intention of answering. All the while, he watched as Shizuka made herself comfortable in a seat next to her brother, already running her fingers through his messy hair and babbling to him, softly telling him about one of her classes. She lifted up, producing a pair of scissors and a towel from her bag. Leaning over him, the towel draped on his neck, she began snipping at the longer hairs, brushing them away. The further she leaned, the slower she became, pausing to stare.

"Oh, nii-chan," she gasped. "Did you...did you just blink?"

Mokuba looked over, realising he'd let his response slide in lieu of watching the gentle interaction without paying attention. It was how he saw Jounouchi blink, eyes fluttering. His eyes seemed to be searching for something, scanning the area before focusing shortly behind Mokuba. It had Mokuba turn, look back at Seto, and then to Jounouchi again.

A tear slipped down Jounouchi's face, his fists clinching. His eyes cinched tight.

"Jou-kun?" Yuugi asked.

"Nii-chan, it's okay." Shizuka nudged Jounouchi's shoulder to pull him onto his back. She set down the scissors and pressed her hand against his, trying to pry open his fists. "You hear me, Katsuya? Whatever's going on can't hurt you; everyone's right here for you. Even Kaiba-kun."

Mokuba looked away as Shizuka spoke, not wanting to consider what was causing Jounouchi to shed a tear. He looked back to Seto, assured that he wasn't going through the same pain but, at the same time, almost wishing that Seto would give him a sign. A heavy breath. A twitch.

Mokuba leapt from his chair and left the room, holding his breath until he was past the doorframe. Breathe in, breathe out. He could only take so much of this at once.

From there, he slowly walked towards the elevator, with no destination in mind. He wasn't dressed for work; he had already sent out messages to Isono and Ebi-san that he and Seto wouldn't be in, with more detail given to Isono. The assistant, as if on cue, had emerged from the elevator.

"Good morning, Mokuba-sama."

"Morning."

"How are you?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Eh, I've been worse, probably."

"And Seto-sama?"

"He's doing alright for now."

Isono nodded, his face kept still as he asked: "How would you like to proceed?"

Mokuba scratched the back of his head.  "I'm gonna play this all by ear. This may not last very long. For now, if anyone asks, nothing's wrong, he's just taking a break," said Mokuba.

"Of course, sir."

"And I'll take over anything that needs done immediately," Mokuba added. It wouldn't be suspicious to go in his brother's place. He'd done it enough when Seto was sleepless or out of the country. "Just defer it all to me."

"Understood," Isono nodded.

They began walking towards the elevator, Mokuba wanting to steer Isono back upstairs. There was no need for him to be downstairs, even if he felt more comfortable around his boss. "Push back any meetings until tomorrow."

"I can try."

"Not just try," Mokuba said. "Do. Push all of it back. I'm not interested in seeing anyone today."

Isono cleared his throat. "Not even the police commissioner?" Mokuba froze, and Isono was quick to pick up his puzzled look. "He's waiting in Seto-sama's office. Your brother had requested meeting him today."

"For...?"

"Jounouchi-san's attack."

Mokuba sucked in another breath. Jounouchi's attack? Isono was too careful not to be deliberate with that statement. "Okay," he nodded. "Okay. Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes."

Because whether it was minutes or hours, Mokuba wasn't going to be ready for this conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so many mixed thoughts about this chapter, though I love it all the same. Jounouchi’s perspective was something I hadn’t initially planned on exploring until the very end, but this was necessary. 
> 
> His mind feels so much different from Kaiba or Mokuba’s
> 
> I also feel slightly weird about the locket thing, but I also love that, because it makes sense to me. So it’s a thing. ;3 
> 
> I will be taking two weeks this time, since I got some stuff going on. So see you in two Tuesdays!
> 
> Anyways hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you think!


	12. Finds, and Shall Find We, Unafraid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brought to you by lots and lots of Hozier.

"Oh, good morning, Mokuba-kun," Ebi-san greeted, startled by the elevator door opening to the haphazard Vice President, Isono in tow. Mokuba was fighting, and losing, to pull the hem of his sweater down with one hand while balancing a Styrofoam coffee cup in the other.

"Morning, Ebi-chan."

"Here to speak to Commissioner Inoue?"

"Yep," he replied, setting he coffee cup on her desk. "And absolutely nothing else. I don't exist; I'm just a ghost."

The secretary, eyes widened and looking between Mokuba and Isono in bewilderment, nodded slowly as she pulled the coffee cup close to her. "I didn't hear a thing," she said.

Chuckling, Mokuba slid into Seto's office where the door had been left ajar. In front of the desk stood a stocky man in a pressed blue uniform. White-gloved hands clasped firmly behind his back, his flat topped cap nuzzled beneath his arm. He looked around the office at a deliberate pace, enraptured by his surroundings as most outsiders seemed to be.

Mokuba cleared his throat as he approached Inoue. "Sorry to keep you waiting, commissioner."

The commissioner jumped. "Ah! Not a problem. I was admiring the artwork. Very...appropriate."

Mokuba focused on the paintings that hung behind his brother's desk. Interpreted watercolour versions of the Blue Eyes and Red Eyes respectively. They were poised towards each other in the heat of battle across a long window-pane.

Maybe it was because Mokuba was used to seeing them every time he walked in, or maybe because they had become such a common part of Seto's deliberately arranged office, that he hadn't noticed them as of late. Now, as he admired the works from afar, he could almost feel his heart begin to hurt. It had been so long since Seto had threatened to forget everything related to Jounouchi and yet, in his very subtle way, he had left small reminders littered as close to him as possible.

"I was under the impression I was speaking with Kaiba-sama," Inoue said.

Mokuba's head ducked down and away from the paintings as he rounded the desk, a beleaguered smile still on his face. "Something came up that was pressing; he figured it would make more sense if I spoke with you anyways."

Mokuba motioned to the chair by Inoue, which he happily took. Mokuba, in turn, stepped behind Seto's desk, standing close to the chair but not sitting, choosing instead to brace a hand against the desk. Higher ground, he supposed.

"Yes, of course. But...given our current information, I think it's safe to say you weren't a target."

Mokuba twitched. "So it was Jou, then?"

"Yes and no."

"How so?"

Inoue sighed. "Jounouchi-san wasn't a target either. What happened, for a lack of better words, was a small part of a big plot."

Mokuba's brows furrowed. "As in...?"

"What happened was more or less an accident. Anyone could have gotten hit but it wasn't intentional. It's what we've been trying to explain to your man when he's brought us information."

Mokuba lowered his head and chewed on his cheek, looking off to the corner of the room. Isono had been gathering information, likely on Seto's order, doing the job for the police. "It can't be an accident. If there's a plot, then..."

"It didn't involve you or Jounouchi-san or Kaiba-sama..."

"Then our business ventures?"

Inoue shook his head. He gave Mokuba a gentle, care-worn smile. A man used to hearing the inane ramblings of those lower than him and being polite in turn. "It's a simple case of wrong place, wrong time I'm afraid. Without going into too much detail, what happened occurred in the middle of a gang related incident between local thugs and yakuza. Someone was just trying to get away and, unfortunately, Jounouchi-san became collateral damage."

Mokuba pressed his other hand on the desk. It didn't sound right. Collateral damage? That was too simple to him. There was no reason it happened so perfectly; there had to be a better reason than that. "Jou was part of a gang once," he said. "Maybe that's..."

Inoue, again, shook his head. "We did explore that avenue, I assure you. Kaiba-sama and his man made it clear what the possibilities may have been."

Mokuba was a torrent between anger and disappointment, squeezing his hands into fists and opening them again. His head drew up, and he swallowed his emotions. "So he doesn't matter then?"

"Of course he does," Inoue said. "But it was important for you to know that this wasn't some greater plot against you or Kaiba Corporation. This was just...a terrible accident. If we catch the man—,"

"If?" Mokuba glowered.

Inoue cleared his throat. "When. When we catch the man responsible, he will be punished accordingly."

"And when will that be?"

Inoue's gentle expression fell as he was met face to face with the seriousness that the Vice President was showing him. Mokuba was aware that most saw his kind and open persona. The energetic, charismatic representative of KaibaCorp., a child at heart, always shown playing games with and acting goofy on talk shows. Wrath was saved for when it was necessary. Well-learned and practiced, though not as foreboding as his elder brother's. But it was enough. The shift in Inoue's expression told him it was enough.

"As soon as we can, Kaiba-sama. The Organised Crimes Division is making use of the information Isono has provided us with. We are close to apprehension, I'm sure."

"How sure?"

"We found the car. Without a doubt."

Mokuba let his knees tremble beneath the desk while he upheld the hardened demeanour. "Alright," he said. "Share anything and everything related to this case with Isono or myself. You understand? Do not let the yakuza stand in your way. If they do, bring it to me. KaibaCorp will find a way to handle it."

"Of course, sir." Inoue stood from his seat, bowing to Mokuba. "Is that all?"

Satisfied, Mokuba nodded. "You're dismissed," he said. As Inoue left, he wondered if it would really help.

Once the door closed, Mokuba collapsed into Seto's chair, his head hanging in his hands. His strong facade broke down to a disheveled mess. Knowing that it was all an accident made it all the more random. Pointless. Jounouchi and Seto were suffering because some trash street thug had decided to get into it with some yakuza family?

Mokuba wasn't sure if this was still his fault or not, it hurt like it did.

He was going to make whoever caused this hurt worse.

* * *

The moment Kaiba stepped off he pier, he covered his eyes with his arm as the world was washed in bright, stinging light. He was stopped short as he felt the Blue Eyes' tail rest against his stomach. "What the—?"

The world, again, shifted around him. Subtly. With a pulse of light, an absence of sound. But he could see the small changes between the sun spots were blinked from his vision. The city was more prominent, standing out from the navy-blue sky. There were lights in the windows. Dim lights, scattered far and few between in windows that were no longer shattered. Signs of life were abundant, even if there were no people in his field of view. They were there—someone was there. Someone more than monsters or mannequins.

The Blue Eyes pushed him back, his shoulders hitting the edge of the bus stop awning. He could hear Jounouchi's voice, melancholic, say: "Checkpoint. Hurrah," and Kaiba looked about as he sat, convinced he'd find the blond.

Just more imagination, he supposed.

Still, he clutched the orb tight. The timer steadily ticked down, though time was still slow. It sped up steadily, but was slow nonetheless. If he had to guess, for each time they were picking up shards, it affected the timer. Faster. Faster. Likely in increments, pushing them along towards their next goal. Kaiba calculated the jumps, where five minutes passed in the original, then twenty, then an hour...the interims were almost too random to call it a pattern, yet he was sure there was an algorithm at play.

The Blue Eyes had shifted around, craning its head down low enough that Kaiba reached out and settled a hand on its muzzle.

"Either way," he said aloud, looking into the dragon's blue, beady eyes, "by the time we reach the last shard, we'll be racing against time. Two, maybe three seconds passing when only one should..."

It was more than the timer. It didn't change on its own, he concluded. The shards did that. And if he coupled that with the flash of light, a growing suspicion struck him.

Kaiba flicked over to the page that displayed the greyed out shard pieces, fighting a grin as he did so. A second was coloured in, a third was blinking. His hadn't been placed into the inset of the ring, but it had been found. A quick consultation of the map, showing only three dots, confirmed his theory: wherever Jounouchi was, he had managed to stumble upon a shard. Luck. Always a lucky bastard, Jounouchi was. In cards. In games. In life.

...well, maybe not in life. These memories seemed to set out to prove that life wasn't always kind. To him or Jounouchi, which had him wonder what memory Jounouchi saw. Given the very calculated randomness of the simulation they were in, the separation was intentional. He had been forced to face the memory of Jounouchi alone, with sobering results.

Sobering. That was a laugh. He had to suppress his own chagrin at that thought. There was nothing sober about Jounouchi in that scenario. He had caught one beer amidst Jounouchi's pity party, yet he had the sinking feeling that it hadn't been the first, nor would it have been the last. Not if genetics had anything to say about it.

Kaiba had the pleasure of seeing what kind of situation Jounouchi was living in early on in their relationship. The few times he encountered the paternal Jounouchi were far less pleasant than Kawai-san. She was tolerable; she had manners and could feign politeness when necessary. Jounouchi-san has been a sad sack of useless, shielded (or blinded) by his own drunkenness, pretending to love his son when it was convenient. And Jounouchi, ever the positive ray of light, was more than willing to sweep any altercations under the rug thinking things might change someday. Or perhaps, until Kaiba came around, Jounouchi was simply looking for any kind of affection, no matter how unkind it was.

Kaiba closed his eyes and clenched the orb tight, pressing it to his lips.

Jounouchi, without a doubt, had turned into that person because of the break-up. Until now, he had never considered the detail of Jounouchi going out drinking with Mokuba beyond their bond. How unintentionally enabling was Mokuba? How much did Jounouchi drink?—he freely admitted the pair tended to go to the point of blackout. So then, what happened when he and Mokuba parted?

The image of Jounouchi staggering home, stumbling into a squalid apartment and collapsing just short of a unmade bed popped into his mind. No. Kaiba shook his head, flushing the thought away. There was no logic to that conclusion—he'd only seen Jounouchi fresh off the break-up, upset and full of blame. Those feelings weren't meant to last.

And yet, Kaiba knew that wasn't true.

A soft rumble from the Blue Eyes made Kaiba open his eyes. In his peripheral, shadows lurked, dashing around. Static figures who's legs didn't move but their bodies teleported, in and out. As if they weren't sure they belonged in the world or not.

Tucking away the map, summoning the glaive to his hand, Kaiba stood from the bench and scanned the open space on the beach. Multiple shadows, whispering to one another. Wisps in the wind, inaudible. Laughing. Teleporting to one another and leaning in close. The more he looked, the more numerous they became.

Kaiba walked forward, the glaive positioned to attack. The shadows parted the further out he walked. They didn't have eyes. They didn't have places for eyes, and yet he knew he was being watched. Examined. Picked apart, piece by piece, no better than the leering crowds of fans and media. Or the wisps of people he would see in the empty estate.

"Ya really thinkin' I'm drinkin' to death over ya?"

"Katsuya?" Kaiba flinched, pivoting to the sound of Jounouchi's voice. The Blue Eyes circled the beach, passing through the shadows. "Wherever you are, this isn't funny."

"Oh, it's fuckin' hilarious," the voice said.

"Show yourself."

"I'm always here. Always with ya," the voice said. Dull and distant. As if he were speaking through a tin-can. "Ya couldn't get rid of my memories with your fancy machine—an' I can't get rid of you with all my drinkin'."

The hair on Kaiba's arms stood up, a chill spiking through his body. The shadows were numerous, in and out of the scene. The voice hiding amongst them, lying in wait. He took tentative steps around the Blue Eyes, rearing up in attack position, teeth bared.

A shadow had appeared, dripping with tar like the original beast they slew, formed in a languid body, limping and bleeding onto the sand like the monster they chased through the office. It had little definition in its body other than gangly limbs, but it's face was demanding. Bright honey eyes set against dark cheeks, and an ear-to-ear grin was unmistakably Jounouchi.

"You're not Katsuya."

"I am."

"No. You're a cheap imitation."

"Cheap. Ya would call me cheap, wouldn't ya Seto?" The shadow asked.

"All I have to do is defeat you," Kaiba said, and he pointed the glaive to the chest of the shadow. "You're just another enemy."

The shadow chuckled, it's hands clasped at its heart. "I'm hurt. Is that all ya see me as?"

"I'm not playing soul-searching bullshit with a doppelgänger. I know a stupid game mechanic when I see one," Kaiba said. The twisted cackle hurt. It took Jounouchi"s joyous, sun-shine laughter and turned it into something coarse. Malevolent and acidic.

"Game? Ya think playin' with my life is a game? If ya really don't wanna play, ya can just give me the shard ya got. Ain't like ya need it...not like you _really_ want me to wake up, right?" The words were so close to his ear. In an instant, the shadow had moved to his side. Knee-jerk, Kaiba swung the glaive, hitting air. The shadow slid back, once again at the tip of the blade. "Fine. Whatever, we'll play your way."

Jounouchi's doppelgänger summoned the sword and shield, charging at Kaiba on uneven footing. He narrowly blocked, thrusting the shaft of the glaive downwards. Gathering his defences, Kaiba blocked with the shaft. His arms shook, and he went white knuckled as he squeezed tight to the pole of the glaive. The shadow lifted the sword away only to strike again, sticking deeper into the lacquered shaft.

Every ounce of force was used to slowly turn the glaive downwards, planting the tip into the sand. He twisted around it, kicking with all his momentum. The shield hit him hard in the shin, his entire body jarred, stumbling backwards. The glaive stayed upright, lodged in the ground. Jounouchi's doppelgänger knocked it away, tossing it into the sand as he approached.

Kaiba stretched his arm out, fingers twitching to call for the glaive, hoping to sheer through the doppelgänger from behind. Before he could, a shadow-y hand, small and child-like, emerged from the sand, cling to his arm and yanking it down. Others followed, clamping onto his wrists and ankles, whispering to him as they drug him deeper into the sand.

The many whispers they had been inaudibly passing to one another rung in his ears, words and voices he recognised:

"... _You're just going to make him sad. That's all your good at..."_

" _...he still found somethin' wrong and picked and picked and picked..."_

" _...getting Jounouchi out is a byproduct. He's the perfect test subject..."_

Kaiba swallowed when he heard himself, fighting against the hands while he focused his attention on the doppelgänger, backing away step-by-step and artfully dodging the bites and swipes from the Blue Eyes. He still smiled, wide and manic.

" _...I need you..."_

" _..he didn't need me two years ago, and he doesn't need me now..."_

" _...what if he doesn't make it...?"_

A very real possibility. He hadn't thought much of it when Mokuba asked him, but now it lingered. Jounouchi was still breathing, but his mere existence didn't classify him as 'living'. Living meant being awake and experiencing the world—so what if they weren't able to retrieve the shards, or time ran out? Did he not make it, then?

Kaiba wasn't willing to find out. He fought against the hands, whispering the words again and again like a curse, while Jounouchi's doppelgänger laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

* * *

 

Thinking about jumping from the cliffside and actually doing so had been separated by a hard line. One that Jounouchi had no intention of crossing, even while he swirled in dark thoughts about the memory. The key had different ideas, dragging him until air hit his feet and he was peddling through the air, hitting free fall in a matter of seconds. His heart pounded in his ears. Though his voice was lost to the wind, he still cursed the very existence of the key clutched tight in his palm as the ground became closer, closer...closer...

The Red Eyes zoomed beneath him, narrowly catching him. Jounouchi clung to the sharpened plates on the dragon's hips, hoisting himself up onto its back.

"Jeez...coulda came a little sooner!" He shouted into the dragon's back. It snarled as it shot upwards, over the heavy tree line, heading first towards the cityscape. The key forced Jounouchi's hand up again, poising it towards the coastline. The dragon, as if understanding, swerved the same direction, with Jounouchi ducking down and cowering against the scales. "Okay, okay, never mind, I gotcha..." he murmured. "Jus'...take me to Seto, a'right?"

Somewhere in the wind, he heard a breathy laughter. Mocking laughter. Goosebumps prickled up his back as he felt something behind him, leering at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a shadow.

Jounouchi looked away, crawling further up on the Red Eyes. "Faster, girl! Faster! There's somethin' behind us."

The Red Eyes stream-lined itself, taking wide thrusts with its wings, closing in on the coast. The laughter faded with the wind, easing the fear that hitched Jounouchi's breath, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching. Waiting. "I...I hope we lost 'em..."

"Lose me? Pup, you'll never lose me. I'm always with you."

Jounouchi's body dropped, and he hugged the Red Eyes' neck. "S-Seto...?"

Again, he looked over his shoulder, unwilling teeth chattering until he set his jaw. Ice blue eyes stared back at him, judging his coiled position, smug and smirking. It seemed like no more than a plume of smoke rested around the dragon's tail, cast in shades of black and grey. Despite its vagueness, Jounouchi didn't have to guess it was Seto. Or something like him.

"Shit! Go! Go! Get away from this fuckin' ghost!"

The key was held up, as if a beacon towards their destination: the beach, littered in inky shadows, neither imps nor beasts, as far as the eye could see. The closer they became, the more he could make out the real Seto. His heart raced faster. What the hell was behind him?

The Red Eyes crashed into the beach, coming to such a sudden stop that Jounouchi flung over the head of the dragon and skidded on his backside, untucking his shirt and filling his pants with sand. As if the crash landing wasn't irritating enough, now he was being chaffed by sand!

Standing, surveying the area and the chaotic scene, Jounouchi couldn't fathom what he was looking at. Seto, on the ground and writhing beneath the restraint of hands, fighting to snap them away and almost sinking into the sand as he did. A humanoid shadow fending off the Blue Eyes with ease, raising its shield to block even a blast of White Lightning, deflecting it out to sea.

It turned to them, and Jounouchi's heart stopped.

Himself. He was staring at himself.

Squeezing his eyes closed, Jounouchi sprinted for Seto, sword and shield in hand. He slid on his knees, slashing at some of the hands ensnaring the writhing executive, slamming the shield edge onto others. He could hear whispers, sickening little whispers that made no sense to him other than the sound of his name in Seto's voice, though the brunet's jaw was set to a tight scowl.

"Are ya a'right?" Jounouchi asked, pulling Seto up.

The glaive flung into Seto's open palm. "Fine."

The open wounds and cuts in his clothes, no thanks to the hands pulling at Jounouchi's legs, said otherwise. But he wasn't going to argue. "What the hell's goin' on?"

"You levelled up the game."

Jounouchi blinked. "I wha—?"

"The ring. You put a piece in."

Jounouchi looked to the ring, not longer clutched in his hand. Somewhere along the way, it had slipped onto his finger. "Yeah. Yeah, okay..."he nodded, and looked back to the shadow coming from behind them, charging towards Seto who had focused his attack on Jounouchi's doppelgänger, bouncing it like a tennis ball between him and the Blue Eyes, it's dodges unaffected by the wound on its leg.

"That ring doesn't belong to you," Seto's doppelgänger said.

Snapping attention to the voice, Jounouchi shook his head as he stood, taking several steps back, the shield braced forward. "Like hell it doesn't!"

"You gave it back to me, remember?" the doppelgänger asked. It held out an expectant hand. "You can't just take it back because you want it again. It doesn't work that way."

Jounouchi almost spoke, almost refuted the shadow, but fell short. He _had_ given it back. Threw it into the snow and let everyone hear that he was giving it back. But he still clutched tight to it, adamant. "Well, too bad," Jounouchi said. "Finder's keepers. Gotta take it from me."

"With pleasure!" Seto's doppelgänger summoned a glaive and charged Jounouchi.

It struck Jounouchi's shield so hard that he wheeled backwards into Seto, feeling him take short, heavy pants before resuming his own fight. They kept close to one another, side-stepping in tight circles as they fended off the assault. Jounouchi, holding back his exasperation of this unsettling annoyance, knew how even matched they would be. Every attack countered, every move predicted. It did nothing more than wear their bodies down. The dragon's did very little to help. They were forced to stand down on the command of the doppelgängers, unaware that they were fakes.

"This is stupid..." Seto muttered. "Pointless, time-wasting..."

Jounouchi nodded. "So what do we do? Can't fight 'em forever."

As he asked, the warmth of Seto's back left him, flung to the ground with a sharp 'crack'. Blood ran down his cheek from a wound hidden beneath his hair. Jounouchi's doppelgänger hovered over him, almost straddling where Seto fought to pick himself up again, the shadow-y hands pawing at him again. Jounouchi was grateful for Seto's stubbornness, watching him aimlessly arc the glaive around to keep the enemy at bay. From his end, another few swipes kept a Seto's doppelgänger several paces back.

But the glowing eyes of the shadows were all focused elsewhere. In the fray, the clear box containing the shard bounced from his pocket. The shining piece rattled around, frantically in search of the ring.

Jounouchi glanced between the ravenous enemies, both prepared to jump on the shard. "Ya want the key so damn bad?" Jounouchi asked, displaying the ring. The doppelgängers stalled. "Go get it!"

The key was tossed into the sand, landing just short of the shard. The shadows frenzied, pouncing towards the items, cutting down their own kind to reach for them. Jounouchi, panicking that he'd placed Seto in imminent danger, flung himself atop the executive, holding onto his wrists and glancing over in time to watch the shard break through its container and attach itself to the ring.

"Katsuya, you—!"

Seto's voice, and the dim night sky, were drowned out by a wash of bright light and a high-pitched squeal. Blinded for the second time in what felt like an hour, Jounouchi tucked his head, his hands clenched around Seto's thin wrists, their forehead’s brushing against one another. 

The light gave way to daybreak. Opening his eyes again, Jounouchi peered up to find the shadows shredded by the light. "Holy shit," he sighed, letting go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Jounouchi, then, became aware of how close he and Seto were. They weren't just pressed against one another, leaning for support, or even holding hands. Jounouchi straddled Seto in a way that he could feel the brunet's hips about for a better position, the space between them so small that not even the wind could pass through. That he could lean down and press his lips to Seto's and feel them, soft and real. Seto was real. God, Seto was real, this was how real he wanted him to be, with a pulse threading beneath his wrists and their chests brushing each time they breathed.

"That was the stupidest thing you could have done."

Jounouchi's glanced off, his lust giving way to anger. Because Seto was very real; even his annoying, picky, judgmental self. "Yeah, well...maybe," Jounouchi said. "But I thought it would work, and it did, so..." he stuck out his tongue.

"Out of blind luck."

Lifting away, Jounouchi fell back onto the sand as Seto sat upright. He scooped the key up, gazing at the half-formed stone. They were halfway done, but he couldn't help the stinging hatred creeping up on him, making him wonder if he wanted to continue watching memories. Did he really want this relationship now?

"Did ya really make this place t' forget about me?" Jounouchi asked, sullen. The key spun between his fingers. "Is that what all this shit is? Some stupid experiment of yours?"

Seto scoffed. "We don't have time for this now..."

"Did ya, you ass? Did you make this stupid game jus' to forget about me? Is this even a game, or are ya jus' sendin' monsters after me jus' to kill me off so ya don't have deal with me anymore?"

"Oh, please. That's ridiculous."

"Is it? Ya made a whatsits—"

" _Invictus_."

"— _Invictus_ to pull out your memories. Ya even told me you were pullin' them out," Jounouchi said. And he was cursing himself for not putting together the pieces until now. Seto had said it plenty of times. But worse, he thought, was the realisation of the name hitting him like a ton of bricks. The same word engraved on the ring. _Amor invictus._ "Means 'undefeated', right? That's you: can't be fuckin' defeated by me. That ain't allowed to Kaiba freaking Seto, so ya went and forgot me."

"Yes, Katsuya," Seto spat. "I set out to forget everything about you; to erase the failure that wasted so much of my time, and my energy..."he paused, looking away before adding: "...my affection. Forgetting you would fix what was broken. Don't pretend that I was alone."

Jounouchi's eyes narrowed. "What the hell ya talkin' about?"

"You're no better than me, Katsuya. Cursing my name, wallowing in your own self-pity while you drank yourself to death," he said. All but Jounouchi's legs stiffened, knees knocking against one another. "Just because you tried it the old-fashioned way doesn't mean you're any better than me."

"It's not the same thing..."

"It is," Seto affirmed. "You wanted to forget just as bad. Wanted to pretend that it didn't hurt just as bad. Wanted to pretend you hadn't wasted your time just as much as I did. Go on, tell me how close I am!"

"It's wasn't..."Jounouchi muttered denials under his breath, though the words hardly croaked out as his throat went raw. His head lowered, fighting the tears. Not right now. Seto couldn't see them.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Seto said, sarcastic, his hand at his ear. "I didn't hear you."

"I said: it wasn't a waste of time!" Fists clenched, teeth bared and body trembling between fear and elation, Jounouchi defended his stance. "None of it was a waste of time. None of it, an' if ya think that then...then..." he sucked in a tight breath, surprised that Seto was allowing him to speak. "Then that's on you. Yeah, I freakin' wanted to forget you. I love you, but I still fuckin' hate your guts, sometimes."

"Finally, the truth comes out."

"Shut up, I ain't done with ya," Jounouchi sneered, pointing an accusing finger. "I hate all your pickiness. Fuck that shit, you said I was good enough! Ya told me that's why ya kissed me, but still you pick on me. 'Stop bitin' your nails' you say. 'Blind luck', you say. 'Stupidest thing you could have done'. 'Stop running ahead'. How good enough am I if you still say that shit?"

"Because you're not thinking about yourself."

"Maybe I don't wanna think about myself! This game, this world, ain't just about me! An' that stupid thinkin' seems to be helpin' us."

"Barely."

"It got _us_ the key. It got _us_ far, and it saved your damn hide. But none of this is about me, or us. It's about you: that ya still don't trust me." Seto's face scrunched as if he had bitten into a lemon, debating what to say. "Go on, tell me how close I am."

"Don't be glib."

"Jus' tell me ya don't trust me."

Seto pulled the orb from his pocket, opening up the timer, but not looking at it. Instead, he turned to the beach as the shadows stretched with the dawn. "Only if you tell me you hate me."

"I can't."

"Why not? You just said it."

"'Cause I don't mean it like you think I do," Jounouchi sighed. "It's different. It ain't, like, full on hate. I still love you."

"Hmph."

"I do," Jounouchi said. He bridged the gap between them, touching Seto's arm and fixing one of the many tears in his shirt.

"You can't love and hate at the same time."

"Sure ya can. Opposite of love ain't hate, anyways. It's indifference," Jounouchi said. "I ain't indifferent. And I don't think you are either." He paused to feel Seto overlook him, choosing his next words carefully. "I saw a memory. Your memory. Where you were makin' this game or whatever it originally was...you're a real ass, ya know? Puttin' Mokuba in the middle of us like that."

"As if I'm alone."

Jounouchi flashed a sad grin. "Anyways, I saw somethin' else," he said, and pressed his hand over a slit in the breast of Seto's shirt, mending it before running his fingers over a raised rectangle beneath the shirt. "You put my picture in your locket. Is...is it still there?"

Seto rested his hand over Jounouchi's, eyes closed, before nudging him away and pulling the locket out of his shirt. He clicked it open. "It's beneath Mokuba's."

"I know," Jounouchi said, but still he wedged his finger in and peeked behind the corner of Mokuba's picture, catching a glimpse of his own, torn and faded from where Seto had crumbled it. With a bitter sigh, he replaced the picture, looking up to Seto and noticing a soft glance from the brunet's hooded eyes. "I jus' don't know what it's s'pose t' mean."

Jounouchi expected a grandiose answer. A strong meaning, representing the bonds in such a way that Seto and Mokuba shared. Instead, Seto said: "Not everything has a meaning. It's just there because I want it to be."

Jounouchi stood in silence, admiring the locket and the answer until he let it go and Seto tucked it away. It wasn't a simple answer, even if Seto was being a little blasé about it. Everything Seto had done up until that point, tried erasing memories, forbidding Mokuba from speaking to him, cutting Mai off from himself, had been to protect the wound that he admitted Jounouchi had made. Love had broken him. Had made him vulnerable, and he was willing to do whatever it took to heal that open wound. Yet he hurt himself, again and again, by leaving behind his own reminders. A picture in a locket—a possession that sat closest to his heart.

Jounouchi smiled, nodding to himself. He may not have gotten an answer about trust, and it still lingered within him given Seto's deflection, but he felt more confident in Seto's realness. He didn't expect Seto to be upfront with him about the trust either way. Admitting he didn't trust Jounouchi would have been cold and callous, but unchanged from before. Admitting there was some trust meant opening himself to weakness, letting the walls down again, opening up the old wounds.

"We need to go," Seto said, drawing Jounouchi from his thoughts. "Time's running out and who knows when those things will be back."

"Yeah."

The dragon's were called over as the shadows stretched, little hands emerging from the sand, easily squashed beneath their feet.

They climbed up on their respective dragons, and Seto displayed the map to show their next destination. They took off, veering in the direction of a wide canyon, over which a long bridge stretched. They left the long shadows behind, joining a sky that teemed with more life than before. Birds swerved around them, and there was the faint sound of a jet in the distance. Below, Jounouchi saw moving squares. Cars, presumably, or maybe carts. Something. It told him that there were people somewhere amongst the shadows.

* * *

 

They flew what felt like hours, though a quick check of the timer showed only forty minutes had passed. They were dipping under two hours to go, less than half the time than when they started.

All the while, he and Jounouchi sat in respected silence, with Jounouchi manoeuvring around the sky like a child at play, swinging the Red Eyes underneath the Blue Eyes or stacking them atop each other, playfully reaching down to try and poke Kaiba at random intervals.

He stifled his laughter, amused and assuaged that they had come to some détente, even if it was unsettled. Jounouchi's lack of words said that they were both unsure of where to begin again, with Kaiba stuck on Jounouchi's open admission of he still in love. Not that the memory Kaiba hadn't told him the same thing; hearing it from Jounouchi's mouth just made it more real. It wasn't a one-off feeling in the middle of a drunken tirade. The question now was whether or not he could admit loving Jounouchi back, because then he would demand trust, and Kaiba wasn't sure he was ready to give it. After all, what was love without trust?

"We're close," Kaiba announced, drinking in their surroundings.

The land below them was vibrant hues of red and orange, with very little shrubbery. Little cars still trundled along, far and few between, but the abundance of life were the monsters, grouped up and running around. Inevitably, some cars became surrounded, torn at and overtaken by the imps or the occasional large, cat-like beast.

"Monsters everywhere..."Jounouchi muttered.

Kaiba said nothing, leaning to the side and steering the Blue Eyes down towards the canyon, a long bridge, made of rope and wood, in sight. He attempted to push them towards the far side, crossing the length of canyon to settle as close to the shard as possible. The Blue Eyes stalled in the air, kicking and roaring as Kaiba commanded it forward. "And why not?" Kaiba asked. It hissed in response, turning away and diving down. It settled close to the edge of the canyon, laying down on the ground as it had at the pier.

"That...is one rickety bridge," Jounouchi said, landing nearby. "We gotta cross that thing?"

"Apparently," Kaiba replied, glaring to the Blue Eyes. It turned away.

Jounouchi dismounted, stepping close to the edge of the canyon and peering into the depths. Monsters clamoured on the edges and in the pit, ready to take them. His hands raised up, making wide motions and forming small stepping stones across the width, and they stayed for a half a second before crumbling down onto the monster below, squealing as they were crushed. "Dammit..."

"We're too close to the shard," Kaiba said. "It's the same reason we didn't just land closer."

"Now ya tell me."

Kaiba huffed as he approached the bridge, the tip of his shoe pressing on the first board to test it. The wood, unsurprisingly, creaked beneath his weight, the ropes bouncing when he pulled back. This kind of test wasn't going to phase him; it was mind over matter. But he looked back at Jounouchi, clamouring and shivering, looking down into the pool of creatures that climbed over one another to try and reach him, and knew it was going to take all of his strength to pull the blond across.

"It's just a bridge," Kaiba reasoned.

"Nope. Nuh-uh. It's gonna kill us."

"Then we'll respawn."

Jounouchi moaned. "How do you know?"

"I don't. But everything that's happened before suggests you should trust me."

Those words made Jounouchi's quirk a brow, his distain obvious. "Trust you...that's freakin' funny. Ha-ha, Seto. Now you're jus' makin' fun of me."

"Start walking."

With a nudge of the shoulder, Jounouchi stepped on ahead of Kaiba, looking back until Kaiba forced him forward. "I'm jus' s'posed to trust that ya got my back here, too huh? You get to go behind me...that's awesome."

Every step rattled and creaked the boards, and even the softest breeze across the canyon shook the ropes, swaying the bridge to and fro. Each time, Jounouchi stopped and held his arms out for balance, glancing back at Kaiba as if to display to him 'look what you're making me do'. But at least his stubborn anger was getting them across in spite of the stops.

It was only after a board broke under Jounouchi's feet did stumble down, clutching the ropes of the bridge and almost hyperventilating while he hunkered on another board, yanking his leg out. "That's it...this is enough Looney Tunes craziness. You go ahead of me," he said, easing himself up.

Kaiba crossed his arms. "What difference does it make?"

"I dunno! Maybe so you can get your foot caught an' see how scary this shit is."

He wasn't sure when, or why, or how, but out of the shadow that Jounouchi cast in the mid-morning sun, Kaiba's doppelgänger appeared, frothing in smoke and rising like a ghost, the glaive poised at Jounouchi's back. No words, just a wry smirk on his face.

Without warning, Kaiba grabbed Jounouchi's collar and flung him to the side. "What the hell's a matter with ya, Seto? I make ya that fuckin' m—"

The glaive pierced through Kaiba, unrelenting, pushing through until a glossy red tip poked out of his backside. "You didnt’t let me kill him for you..."the doppelgänger hissed. "You know you wanted me to."

"...n-no..."

Trembling hands grabbed the shaft of the glaive to fight, but the blade was ripped from his body as swiftly as it pierced, dropping Kaiba to his knees. Only then did he register the biting pain of slice, with each breath stifled, splitting the wound. He was sure it was widening, drawing him closer to unconsciousness. It was unfathomable just how crippled he felt; paralysed and blinded by just the open air against the wound.

This wasn't real. This wasn't real. This wasn't real.

But his legs were numb, and hot blood slid down his back and collected like sweat in his waistline, streaking down his thigh. He leaned forward to try and gather himself, or at least gather what happened, pressing his hand over the long wound to stifle the blood pooling beneath him.

This wasn't real. Pick yourself up. This wasn't real. Pick yourself up.

Again and again he said it, upturning his head to catch Jounouchi waging a war against the doppelgänger, keeping it against the ropes with repeated hits. "Seto! Seto, ya alright?"

"...fine..."

"Liar."

"...I...never lie..."

"Whatever. Get behind me and hold onto the ropes," Jounouchi ordered. Kaiba grabbed the ropes on the opposing side of the bridge, breath stuttering for every inch he moved. "Good. Keep hold, a'right, and seriously trust me here—argh..."

"Why...?"

"Cause," the doppelgänger hit in him the face, "—oof, piece of shit—I'm about to do somethin' stupid."

Kaiba's eyes widened the moment he saw what Jounouchi was about to do. The shield's edge drilled into the chest of his doppelgänger while the sword cut through the ropes off to the side. "Katsuya—!"

Jounouchi parted from Kaiba's doppelgänger, stumbling to the opposite side of the bridge and landing beside Kaiba as the shadow fell backwards, it's cry drowned out by the ravenous snarls of the imps that were lying in wait below.

Shooting up, grappling on the bridge, wobbling worse that before, Kaiba forced himself forward, trying to run even while he wasn't sure where his feet were landing. He took hold of Jounouchi, dragging him along, refusing to look back at the ropes as they strained to their maximum tautness, unthreading piece by piece.

"I got you," Jounouchi whispered, pulling Kaiba's arm over his shoulder as they walked. "Take it easy, we'll make it," he said, looking back. Piece by piece snapped, and Jounouchi picked up the pace, wrapping his arm around Kaiba's waist and almost picking him up by the last few steps. Adrenaline rushed between them, fighting the lofty feeling as each board on the bridge gave out beneath them. A repeat of the floor from the first room they were in, Kaiba mused, though unlike that visit, Jounouchi leapt with time to spare, throwing them into the dust and clay riddled earth as the last of the rope pieces snapped. The bridge hung, lame, from one side of the rope.

"...you're right. That...ngh...was stupid," Kaiba said, bracing himself on one arm. He doubled over, and Jounouchi cradled him before his forehead touched his knees.

"Yeah, I know." Jounouchi said, shifting Kaiba to lean against his shoulder. The soft, short breaths the executive made were more than concerning. "So were you, though. You didn't have t' do that, so shut up."

"I did." Jounouchi clicked his tongue. "I couldn't let it...kill you..."

"Why not? Ya said it yourself, I'd respawn."

"Because it's me; thinks it's me," Kaiba muttered. He opened his eyes and gazed around the empty space to figure out where the shard might be. He found an arch of rocks, perfectly shaped, displaying a narrow corridor between tall canyon walls. "And it thinks I want to kill you, and I don't. I couldn't let it..."

"Course ya couldn't. Means ya didn't win," Jounouchi said.

"It would mean I didn't love you still."

Jounouchi shifted as Kaiba forced himself to stand on unsteady feet, stifling moans into short breaths while he clutched his side. Jounouchi sprung up with him, holding him tight. "Woah, slow down, we'll get there."

"...we...don't have time..."

"You're hurt. We can take a minute." Kaiba still put one foot in front of the other, forcing himself forward, and Jounouchi did little to stop him, supporting him as they reached the opening. "Like, maybe we can talk 'bout what you just said."

"Don't play dumb," Kaiba chided. "You know what it meant."

They walked in silence, with Kaiba attempting to break away from Jounouchi as he felt the wound mend itself, his strength regaining slowly. A trail of blood followed him, swiped across the walls as he stopped to catch his breath. Every so often, he looked back to see Jounouchi smiling, quickly hiding it in lieu of latching back onto Kaiba, wordlessly accepting the aid.

The canyon walls began to widen, and red clay path toned down to shades of cement gray. It wasn't long until they were somewhere in the middle of a busy Domino street, with people floating by them, chattering loudly. Car horns were in the distance, the whop of helicopter blades overhead. They were faced with a long row of buildings plastered with designer clothes draped over faceless mannequins, adorned with filigree marquee signs.

They had come straight up on a set of glass doors with no name, the display window showing a variety of wares. Diamond necklaces, bracelets, and earrings dangling lavishly from the faceless busts with disembodied hands. In front of them, a row of watches gleamed in the sun.

Weakness overcame Kaiba, and he stumbled away from Jounouchi, pressing his arm against the door to hold himself upright—or maybe hide his trepidation, worsened by the shaking in his stomach. He wanted to say it was the wound that was causing the nausea, but it wasn't pain causing his strife. Nor was it anger, or sadness, or fear. It was just nerves.

Kaiba snickered to himself. "No...not this..."

"Not what?"

Kaiba glanced back, swallowing the wash of pain in his side. Blood slipped through his fingers. "You don't recognise this?"

"It's a jewellery store." Jounouchi said, and leaned in close, his face pressed to the glass to peer at the dim scene inside. And he saw two mannequins standing at a counter. "The one that we got the ring at...ain't it?"

Kaiba nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot going on here. Mixed feelings, questions of love....some more things to be explored...especially given the memory they’re about to see. 
> 
> Welp, tell me what you think! 
> 
> See ya in two Tuesdays


	13. It Matters Not How Straight the Gait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by Bad Wolves.

When Kaiba entered the store, he left a palm of blood smeared across the glass that Jounouchi stared at, frowning, before he followed. Even then, Kaiba caught him stepping around the fat blood drops splattered over the marble tile as he walked. As if he needed reminded that his semi-healed wound hadn't stopped bleeding.

Weakly, he staggered into one of the display cases, sneering at his pale reflection looking back at him. This would go away, he told himself. Though it still bled, the pain had dissipated, leaving nothing more than an awkward feeling in his stomach. And that, he reasoned, had more to do with the mannequins in front of him than the wound.

He tried to swallow those feelings. This moment was going to come whether he wanted it to or not and, in retrospect, the memory wasn't unhappy. In comparison to Jounouchi sobbing in a bar or, as Jounouchi had informed him, finding out the reason of _Invictus'_ existence, this was placid. A little boring. Something like the first kiss, though less romantic. If that kiss could have been called romantic to begin with. It occurred as if should have, as Kaiba wanted it to. A wordless declaration between them, with little flourish from either of them, because one of them had to make a move eventually.

As he stared at the mannequin's backsides—both standing at the counter peering through the glass, bodies close and Jounouchi's hand snaked around Kaiba's elbow—Kaiba recoiled. How close they were, how comfortable they had felt with one another. They never did anything they didn't mean; they were both too honest. Back then, had Jounouchi not been holding his arm, leaned in close and whispering in Kaiba's ear, he would have thought something was wrong, and he wasn't entirely sure why. An unconscious testament to their time spent together, he supposed. Secondary and nuanced. Something only noticed when it was missing.

Just like he noticed the empty halls of the estate when Jounouchi was missing.

Mirthful laughter escaped Kaiba, his blood-stained hands covering his face to hide the reflection. "Ridiculous," he muttered, though he was laughing louder.

Jounouchi hovered close, asking: "Ya a'right?"

Kaiba shook his head head, biting back the laughter. "Yes."

"Ya sure?" Jounouchi said, looking into the display case. "Nothin' in here looks that funny..."

"I said I'm fine." Kaiba pushed himself from the display case, a rag conjured in hand.

Jounouchi lingered by his side, leaning in as Kaiba cleaned off his face and hands, skepticism painted on his face. "A'right then. Jus' don't go passin' out on me," he said, stepping towards the mannequins, admiring the details on the faces before outstretching a hand to brush where he held onto Kaiba. "We gotta get through this memory stuff and—,"

"Not yet!" Kaiba snapped.

Flinching, Jounouchi turned back. "Why not?"

"We're in a jewellery store," Kaiba replied, thinking quick on his feet. Jounouchi didn't need to know that he wasn't quite ready. "The shard could be anywhere, so we should look around."

"I dunno what happened in the memory you saw, but the shard didn't show up til after mine was over."

"And yet you found one floating in a cave-in," Kaiba reasoned.

"So?"

"So they could be anywhere."

Jounouchi sighed, face softening. Kaiba grimaced, thinking how pathetic he must have looked. "Fine, whatever. What are we lookin' for then?"

"A piece missing from a ring or a necklace."

"There's hundreds of things in here."

Kaiba outstretched his arm, waving it across the length of the store. "Then start looking."

Jounouchi's over-exaggerated sigh followed him as he walked the length of the store, staring into the cases and brushing his fingers along the edges. "Weren't ya jus' going on about time?"

"Does it look like we're wasting it?"

"Kinda." Kaiba glanced away, pressing his hand along the edge of the displays to keep himself upright.

They looked in silence, passing glances to one another in between Jounouchi pressing his face as close to the glass as possible. "How much of this ya think we remember?"

"All of it, likely," Kaiba said. "Our subconscious recalls far more details than we think."

"Guess I jus' don't remember much then," Jounouchi said, leaning against the counter. "Wasn't really focused on everything happenin' around us, ya know? Didn't seem that important."

"Less talking, more looking."

Jounouchi's lips flattened, and he pivoted away, muttering to himself as peered through cases. Kaiba stalled, squeezing his eyes closed his head spun. There was little relief there. Images of the real world passed him by. Mokuba, somewhat blurry, hovering over him and talking, though he couldn't hear what was being said. Beyond him were the bland tiles and the fluorescent lights, unmistakeable from the infirmary.

Kaiba opened his eyes, confused, unsure of why he was seeing the infirmary and not his bedroom.

"Ya know, it's okay to stall if you want," Jounouchi said. Kaiba barely heard him, still trying to process the images that, as he closed his eyes, didn't conjure again. "Can't say I know why. Ain't like it's a bad memory."

Kaiba 'harrumphed' quietly, his head bowed.

“You regret it?” Jounouchi asked. He crossed the room, stopping inches from Kaiba. 

"Regret what?"

"This," Jounouchi said, knocking his head towards the mannequins. "Askin' me."

A breath. Two. Three. Jounouchi never faltered, though he did cross his arms and bite his lip, nervous impatience growing. In response, Kaiba pivoted back towards the mannequins, reaching out and tapping the shoulder of Jounouchi's before stepping back.

Life breathed into them, the symphony of sound pattering through the room. Hushed voices of sales clerks and shoppers leaned far over the counters. Nails clacked evenly, one by one, on the glass as the memory of Jounouchi turned towards Kaiba, making a nondescript face before letting out a tough breath of air and pulling away, pressing his back to the countertop and pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Don't see why I need t' be here," the memory of Jounouchi said.

"Because I asked you."

“Oh, okay," Jounouchi muttered, rolling his eyes chuckling to himself. "That's why. Gotcha. Ain't I flattered to watch ya out here tryin' to shop like a normal person."

Kaiba glared at Jounouchi. "If you're so bored, wait in the car then. This won't take much longer."

"Hell yeah I'm bored, but this is freakin' entertainin'. It's like ya don't know how any of this works," Jounouchi snickered, and jumped when Kaiba reached over and pinched his arm. He rubbed it, furious, staring at the little red welt forming. "What was that for?"

Kaiba didn't respond, returning his attention to the salesman who had finished laying out a variety of ring bands, set in small boxes, explaining each of them until the executive waved his hand and chose to inspect them himself, his finger hovering over each one, moments from touching, before passing onto the next. The salesman, trying to read him, put away selections as they were passed over.

The real Jounouchi stepped closer, laughing alongside his counterpart. The same pitch; the same smile on his cheeks. It was enough for Kaiba to grin at the laugh, though he hadn't remembered Jounouchi laughing at the time.

"It's still funny," Jounouchi said, looking back. The grin disappeared, but he knew Jounouchi had saw. "You bein' all particular."

"For good reason," Kaiba replied. He pressed his pointer finger to his lips and nodded towards the scene again.

"What about this one?" The memory Kaiba asked a disinterested Jounouchi. "Katsuya?"

"What?" A ring was pointed to. "S'not bad. Like...not too thick, I guess. But you're gettin' this to Moki for graduation right? He's gonna like anything you give him."

"Would you give it to him?"

Jounouchi inspected the band, humming. "Nah."

"Why not?"

"It's just...a little too chunky."

"'Chunky?'" Kaiba asked. Jounouchi nodded. "So you wouldn't want a chunky band?"

"It don't really matter what I'd want," Jounouchi replied. "But not that, so I figure Moki wouldn't like it too much either, ya know? I got a feelin' he'd take after you."

"Meaning?"

Jounouchi leaned against the counter, hands folded together while Kaiba pushed the band back to the salesclerk. "Not too flashy. Classy, I guess? Somethin' that he ain't gonna mind wearin' all the time but also says 'Imma Kaiba, deal with it'."

The salesclerk seemed to be listening as Jounouchi rambled, pulling out several different bands, either in silver or platinum, presenting them somewhere between Jounouchi and Kaiba.

"I'm wondering why ya just don't get him a car or somethin'."

"He wasn't interested," Kaiba replied.

"Weird. Coulda swore he was jus' talkin' my ear off about gettin' a car a few days ago," Jounouchi countered. He slid closer to Kaiba, their hips touching, as they went over the rings together, with Jounouchi pushing several away with his own declarations of how Mokuba wouldn't like them.

As the selection dwindled, Kaiba's double asked. "What sort of ring would you want exactly?"

"What would I want?" Jounouchi asked, incredulous. "Pfft, yeah, 'cause this is about me."

"For the moment it is."

"Whatever..."

"Katsuya," Kaiba said, reigning in his annoyance. "Just answer the question."

"Jeez, okay. But I gotta know what it's for, first. Like, are we talkin' for some fancy dinner, or just to match with everything else?" Jounouchi asked. He waited for half second, following where Kaiba was fiddling between two thin, nondescript bands. He realised he wasn't getting an answer. In a huff, he said: "Fine, alright, uh...that one, I guess," he said, jamming his finger into the display case, forgoing the two Kaiba was inspecting.

"You guess?"

Jounouchi's jaw set, hands shoved into his pockets. "Yeah. Simple, nice, kinda elegant; sorta shit that you would want me t' wear an' the kind of thing that I wouldn't mind wearin' a lot if I had to."

The scene was growing dim in Kaiba's view, his focus drifting towards the sensation crawling along the aching wound. It felt like warm water, not blood, was rushing through it.

Pressing his hand to the wound, Kaiba raised his head to keep watching, to keep his focus solely on the world around him. He caught Jounouchi's awe, recognition dawning on him as Kaiba jutted his chin towards the salesclerk.

"Do you know your ring size, sir? The clerk asked, unlocking the display case.

"What are you doin', Seto?" memory Jounouchi asked. His head bobbed between the clerk and Kaiba, getting nothing more than a side-eyed glance. "We're still lookin' for somethin' for Mokuba, aren't we?"

"Perhaps."

Both Jounouchis' arms flattened against the glass, though the real one's cheeks bloomed red, his joy subdued to a refusal to breathe, to speak, to move. As if blinking meant he'd miss something he had already experienced. "Ya know I ain't that stupid," Jounouchi's double said, with the real Jounouchi mouthing it.

Grinning to himself, Kaiba tried to focus all of his attention on Jounouchi, enrapture, while his hand clenched the blood-soaked shirt. With a thought, the shirt to mended itself, but he could feel where the wound had stopped short of healing itself, his fingertips dancing along a thin opening beneath the fabric.

"I never said you were."

"I'm sure there’s a couple of 'em built up," Jounouchi countered. "But I can see what your doin'."

"What am I doing, Katsuya?"

"Tryin' to get me some kind of gift for White Day 'cause you can't think of nothin'." Jounouchi said. He grinned, wide and victorious, as Kaiba stared him down. "I'm right, aren't I? Lemme guess, this was Moki's idea, too. That's alright if it is, ya know. I'm not gonna get mad. But if you can't think of somethin', you can always ask me."

Kaiba slipped the ring off of the display, turning it over in his fingers. "But you like it? It would be something you would wear?"

"Yeah, sure," Jounouchi nodded. "I ain't too picky."

"Unfortunately,” Kaiba said. Jounouchi stuck his tongue out. "Try it on."

"Tell me I'm right first," Jounouchi bargained.

The ring was clenched in Kaiba's fist, and he reached out for one of Jounouchi's hands, still stuffed in his pockets. The blond jumped back, prompting the real Jounouchi to do the same, as if muscle memory had suddenly kicked in. But his eyes were following the ring. "Don't be difficult, Katsuya."

"Tell me I'm right. That you had no idea what kind of gift t’ give me."

"Does it matter?" Kaiba asked.

"To me."

Snatching up Jounouchi's arm, prying his hand from his pocket, Kaiba's double was quick to slip the ring on Jounouchi's finger. There was a little resistance at the second joint, though it twisted on just enough. Jounouchi's fingers curled inwards, though he was unable to pull away from the executive's vice grip, no matter how many times he tugged. Not that he tugged hard, he was too busy staring at the ring. "I bet it's stuck now," Jounouchi said, thumb fiddling with the band to push it over the joint.

"Good."

"The hell's that s'pose to mean?" Jounouchi slammed his free hand on the counter, stepping chest to chest with Kaiba. "Huh? Ya jus' want me t' have a ring stuck on my finger for the rest of my life?"

Kaiba nodded.

"You...you..."Jounouchi's double searched for words, sputtering guttural noises in attempt to reply, shaking his head the entire time. The real Kaiba was as amused as he had been before, catching how Jounouchi's face changed from anger, to annoyance, to a neutral, almost knowing expression when Kaiba's hand released his wrist and settled beneath the blonde's open palm. "You..want me to have this ring on...for the rest of my life..."Jounouchi said, steady but breathless. "Don't you?"

"Very astute."

"So that means that this is..."Jounouchi's lips sealed and his eyes widened. His hand pulled away, palming his beet red face. "You...I...dammit, Seto..."

"So articulate."

Wordless, Jounouchi's double rocked forward, his forehead planting into Kaiba's shoulder. Everything he tried to say came out as garbled gibberish, buried somewhere beneath the swath of emotion. "Somehow, that wasn't the reaction I expected," the real Kaiba said.

"No?"

"Not at all." Kaiba pushed himself off the wall, hands away from the wound. "But I would have gotten you a ring long before then if it shut you up."

Jounouchi scoffed. "Stop bein' such an asshole."

"I'm not; I'm perfectly serious." An anaemic smile popped up.

"I never thought you'd ask. Not that ya really 'asked' so much as made me stumble like an idiot through it but..."Jounouchi trailed off. There was no expressing how grateful Kaiba was that the memory kept Jounouchi's attention away from his struggle. "I guess I wanted to ask after a while, but I didn't know how. Or who was supposed to do what."

"We never talked about it."

"Didn't need to. It was just...a thing. Like, everyone knows Mokuba's your VP, but he don't really need the title. We didn't need titles, either."

An odd sentiment. Though he never referred to Jounouchi and himself in any specific way. They were a couple as far as the media was concerned. But they were never lovers, or boyfriends, or mates, or partners. Even after the ring, and the discussions of marriage, they didn't call themselves fiancés or worry about being called husbands. They just were.

"No, we didn't. We didn't need a ring, either," Kaiba said. Without looking at Jounouchi, he knew the man was flinching, gearing up a verbal assault. With little pause, he continued: "But I felt it necessary. I don't think you disagree."

"Nah," Jounouchi replied. "Why would I?"

"Exactly. So to answer your question, Katsuya: no, I didn't regret asking you."

Attempting to step closer to the scene, to Jounouchi, was nearly impossible. The wound felt as though it vented hot-air, like his chest was breathing through a separate orifice. Hairs prickled on the back of Kaiba's neck, disoriented by the odd and painless sensation. Moreover, he still couldn't decide if it was caused by the wound itself, or by the scene winding down in front of him.

Memory Jounouchi coiled around Kaiba, arms slithering up to the executive's shoulders and hanging on while he stifled back hiccups. Kaiba's hands laid on Jounouchi's hips. "Y-you jerk..."he muttered. His face was a mess of tears and snot. "Coulda just asked..."

"Mm."

Shuddered hiccups, hiding them beneath a brave face, escaped Jounouchi's double while scrubbed away any tears with the butt of his palm. One was missed, however, becoming solid and pattering against marble floor, bouncing up against the edge of the counter while the figures faded away.

Jounouchi hunkered down, crawling over to the shard and scooping it up in one hand while digging out the ring with the other. His fingers barely revealed the shard before it flung itself to the inset.

The world, again, was bathed in bright light and noiseless. The algorithm changing to match the level they were now at, which was the only thing Kaiba could gather. Were it truly like a video game, he images it being the pixels rearranging themselves, redefining their parameters. Placing newer, harder enemies while making subtle changes if it were a puzzle. All of those thoughts and considerations made it easier to deal with the sudden feeling of something expanding in his chest as he walked towards Jounouchi.

Once the light faded, however, Kaiba was felled to his knees. It wasn't pain in the wound, but heat and tightness. As if hands writhed beneath his skin, attempting to pull him to some other dimension from the inside out.

"What's goin' on, Seto?" Jounouchi asked, his arm crossing over Kaiba's shoulders.

"...I don't know..." Jounouchi lifted Kaiba up, letting him rest against the blond's shoulder. His hand clutched at the wound as it pulsed, stealing his breath away. Out of the corner of his eye, Jounouchi paled.

Gripping the end of his shirt, Kaiba pulled it up with reluctance, expecting streaks of blood across his abdomen and some Lovecraft horror to be crawling from his chest. Instead, he was taken aback by clean skin and a horizontal cut along his left side with a dull ray of light escaping through it. Golden particles, like dust, wafted out from the wound before disappearing into nothing. "Maybe..."Kaiba began, readjusting himself to press his hand against it, against it to disappear through, "maybe I'm waking up."

Jounouchi frowned. "Can't be."

"We don't get to decide, Katsuya."

"It didn't happen like that before," Jounouchi said. "You...ya jus' all went at once. Like slowly vanished into the weird pixie dust, a'right. None of this happened. And it sure hell didn't hurt ya, neither."

Kaiba wanted to find reason. As much as he disliked his own answer, it was the only thing he had to go on. That, and the outline of Mokuba hovering over him every time he closed his eyes. He shivered to the thought of waking up now. The moment was too inconvenient for it; they still had an objective to complete, after all. Waking up now meant trying to make up for whatever time was lost, as if they weren't already fighting with the timer.

But Jounouchi was right. It didn't happen like this. It wasn't slow or punishing, just a snap of the fingers, with his eyes open and the dreamworld left behind. "I wasn't stabbed first," Kaiba said. "Stab wounds hurt."

"And heal! The thing on my head healed. All those cuts healed," Jounouchi shuffled around, showing the torn hem of his pant leg where Kaiba had grabbed him. "Your nail scratches healed, too. So why ain't this?"

"I don't know, Katsuya," Kaiba said through grit teeth. It took all of his energy to unfold himself from the floor, refusing to hold onto Jounouchi even as the blond braced around him, making sure he didn't fall over. Kaiba considered the 'why' as he took tentative steps forward, heel to toe, as he pushed through the door. "The only thing different was it was the doppelgänger. As far as I'm aware, they haven't made any other marks on us."

"I mean, they got a couple good swipes in." Jounouchi said. He pushed Kaiba's bangs back, revealing a similar wound, though the glow was far less bright. "Remember? Ya got hit real hard, fell to the ground? Maybe...they're the big bad we gotta worry about them, ya know? Everythin' else heals but they don't."

Kaiba nodded, nudging Jounouchi away. "Your double still had a cut in its leg from when I hit it before. They could be just a vulnerable as we are."

"I just dropped one off the bridge though," Jounouchi said. "Shouldn't that kill 'em?"

"It hasn't killed anything before."

Jounouchi sighed, his face contorted with the very thought of still having to fight their doppelgängers. Kaiba shared the lament; they were predictable as far as a game world was concerned, but he had to consider the sort of world they were going through. It was all focused on them. Their memories, their losses, their fights, their experiences. What else made sense other than to hold a mirror up to themselves and demand they be beaten back while, simultaneously, also being the worst enemy?

"We'll beat 'em," Jounouchi declared. "We're better than those assholes anyways."

* * *

 

Mokuba didn't return to the infirmary immediately. He drifted around down the corporate tower, Isono shortly behind him, before heading out to grab something to eat. He found himself at the noodle place, scooping through the bowl of double egg and noodle, chopsticks sloshing through the oily broth.

Accident. All of this was some huge accident, with no rhyme or reason.

It wasn't as if he could go hunting after all the yakuza to try and figure out who they were chasing on some random night a month ago. Morbidly, he hoped they had killed the man, though that meant he wasn't about to have any justice.

After eating, he returned to the infirmary with a full stomach, his nerves mostly intact as he settled in a chair between both of the bed, occasionally looking up whenever he heard noise beyond the sound of Yuugi's quiet voice explaining the details of whatever project he and Seto had been working on in the midst of all of this madness. It was relaxing, almost normal. As if Yuugi was sitting on one of the couches in Seto's office on a normal workday, receiving input on the kinds of changes that needed made while also being briefed on the upcoming Duel Monsters tournament season.

Intermittently, Shizuka joined the conversation, either as herself or Jounouchi, to keep the mood up. It had the room giggling, though Usami said nothing as he passed through, only eyeing the kids with curious suspicion. Mokuba considered replying to her imitation of Jounouchi's voice with something in Seto's tone, but refrained. If Seto could really hear him, he didn't wasn't to press whatever was going on. He had upset Seto enough with this precarious situation, he wasn't about to make it worse.

"It's odd, don't you think, Mokuba-kun?" Shizuka asked.

"What's that?"

"That nii-chan's turned to Kaiba-kun like that," Shizuka pointed out.

"Maybe."

"I like it," she said. Standing, she placed her sketchbook in the seat as she approached her brother, giving Mokuba a view of what she was working on. The entire time she'd been doing quick character sketches. Of Jounouchi, of Seto, of Yuugi. Sometimes using their poses and little else. Near the end, she was detailing a sketch where he had momentarily spread his arms out to touch both Jounouchi and Seto's hands.

Mokuba smiled. Quite a picture.

"It's like he knows what's going on; like he's trying to reach out." Mokuba focused in on the ring that Seto had left on the bureau. Mentioned briefly by Shizuka, but never moved. Though he was convinced, whenever Jounouchi opened his eyes, that he was looking straight at it.

"Could be whatever's going on in the game."

"Yeah," Shizuka agreed. "What do you think they're going through?"

"Hopefully nothing too terrible." Shizuka nodded, leaning against the railing and adjusting the blanket over Jounouchi from where he had tossed about. All the while, Mokuba considered the kinds of dreams that Seto had described to him, the varying states of alarm he had woken up in, and could only imagine what they were going through based on their respective reactions.

Miming Shizuka, Mokuba hovered over Seto, fidgeting with the blanket where Usami had displaced it. Folding his arms over his chest and resting shifting his head over. Seto shuddered beneath the touch, hands balling up in the knit blanket.

"Nii-sama?"

Seto's back arched, heels digging into the bed and lifting himself. It happened for just a second before he flattened again. It took only that moments for Mokuba to drown in fear. He wanted a sign, but not this. Not anguish.

"Nii-sama, wake up, please. You've been asleep too long," Mokuba whispered. Seto's eyes opened to slats while his body returned to the bed, now laid on his side to face towards Jounouchi.

Overwhelmed, Mokuba slumped onto the edge of the bed as he processed what this meant. Like Jounouchi, Seto blinked and reacted as if he were awake, his icy gaze widening as it pin-pointed Mokuba and stared, wanting, before closing again.

"Is he...?" Yuugi broached.

"Not yet."

"Soon," Yuugi replied. Mokuba wished he had Yuugi's confidence. But Seto hadn't left him yet; he'd done plenty of crazy things before. "I have a feeling it will be soon."

* * *

 

Jounouchi smiled the entire way through the long canyon pass. After seeing the so called 'proposal', there were flutters in his chest, not unlike when they first began seeing one another, or when they first kissed. And while Seto shared none of his thoughts on the matter, hearing that he wasn't regretful was a weight off of Jounouchi's shoulders.

It had been a question he long asked himself after the break up. Plenty of nights had been devoted to that very concept, wondering if it may have been more of a breaking point than anything else. There were plenty of couples who were comfortable living with one another, sharing each other's time and companionship, without it needing to be made into anything special. As if a ring suddenly made it more real than the four years they had spent together beforehand.

There were times he wondered, when he reached the bottom of a bottle, or his head was so heavy he couldn't lift his chin front his chest, if he had pressed that kind of arbitrary definition between them. There were so few times he could recall whether or not he'd said a word to Seto about getting married. Maybe they were subtle hints. Then again, he wasn't the only one. Mokuba had his fair share of input regarding their relationship. Some that Jounouchi was a part of, some that he heard second-hand.

Now? Now the worry disappeared with the memory.

It made Jounouchi wonder if Seto's apprehension had anything to do with the same concept. He had to admit, it was pretty opposite of Seto to claim that they didn't need a ring, but that it was also necessary. Somewhere in that mix-up laid some sort of answer, though Jounouchi would freely admit that maybe he didn't understand the question.

It didn't matter now, he supposed.

What mattered now was making sure that he and Seto made it to the end. What with Seto stumbling his way to the mouth of the canyon and approaching the still broken bridge, refusing help despite how desperately he needed it. Jounouchi would give him his space; he would ask for help when it was necessary.

When he reached the mouth, however, he leaned against the wall for support, dragging himself onto the bus stop bench that had appeared as if it knew that it was needed.

"I'm alright," Seto said, unprompted. Jounouchi sat beside him.

"Okay."

In the meanwhile, the orb was consulted, the next destination displayed. It wasn't far, maybe walking distance from the canyon as Seto zoomed in on it, though it appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, near a small dot that Jounouchi could only assume was some kind of lake.

Seto flicked to the timer.

_1hr 07m...15s...14s...13s..._

They stood, with Seto heading towards the bridge. The dragon's peered at them from across the gap, clawing at the invisible shield that prevented them from crossing. Seto cursed under his breath and snapped his fingers to fix the bridge. Nothing. He snapped again. And again. And again. No change.

"Lookit how useless he is; can't walk, can't fight. Can't remember the rules of the game anymore...," a voice drawled from behind. Jounouchi clenched his fists, the sword and shield conjured as wedged himself between Seto and the shadow of himself. Though it had become far less shadowed.

It reminded him of an incomplete painting. The shadows still swirled in the missing pieces between the clothes and the skin, but the doppelgänger was no longer languid or humanoid. It simply was him, from the moppish hair and sun-kissed skin to the red dress shirt and black slacks. It even wielded the same sword and shield.

"You're running out of time," said Seto's doppelgänger, appearing in an instant.

The voices chillingly close. So close, with barely a tin-like echo between them. They lost their strange etherealness and, if they existed any longer, Jounouchi suspected that he wouldn't be able to mistake Seto from his shadow.

"We didn't kill ya, you asshole?" Jounouchi roared.

Seto's doppelgänger smirked. "Tell me how you really feel, Katsuya!"

"Alright then, piss the hell off. You're an annoying piece of shit," he turned back towards his own doppelgänger. "You too. Don't need ya. Don't want ya. An' ya ain't gettin' the ring."

The pair didn't listen, instead charging for the attack. Shields clashed with one another, Jounouchi's back drilling into Seto's, pushing the executive forward, pressing him harder into then lock between the shafts of the respective glaives. They were about to become a literal sandwich, Jounouchi thought, because if the doubles pressed any harder, they were really about to become the jelly.

There was no immediate exit in sight. With Seto occupied, he didn't imagine that they were going to be able to consult the map anytime soon.

Grabbing Seto's collar, Jounouchi jerked them both down to the ground. It pained him to watch Seto fall with graceless ease, landing haphazard. "What the hell did you do that for?"

The clash of the doppelgängers became the answer. Rolling out from underneath them, Jounouchi tugged Seto along, looking around the bluffs of the canyon to try and find another opening that wasn't a dead end. As he did, he watched the Red Eyes hitched up and begin to make a wide circle, the Blue Eyes shortly behind, before making a quick descent somewhere diagonal from their location.

"This way," he suggested, passing them between a small arch of rocks that was just large enough for a person to fit through. It opened up to a thin pathway, covered in rocks and sloping downwards.

Seto backed away. "This can't lead anywhere."

"Ya have any other bright ideas?" Seto was already fumbling out the map. The doppelgängers were shortly behind, stepping through the thin arch with a small army of the imps not far behind. Panicked, Jounouchi wrapped his arm around Seto's waist, quickly planted a kiss on his cheek, and began down the steep descent.

His feet turned to the side, skidding down the slope with little control over the flow unless he hit a rock and tripped forward, trying to find the next small path to keep the momentum up. He barely looked back, or at least far enough to see if they were being chased, though some of the imps lacked any kind of finesse and somersaulted down the slope, with many of them bashing into rocks until they became dust, defeated by their own hurry. If he looked at anything, it was Seto, doing his best to follow, shifting around and using the glaive to try and steer like he was the rudder of a canoe.

At least they weren't spinning in the water.

Several times, Jounouchi wrapped both arms around the executive, unsure as to whether or not he could make the sudden climb up a larger rock. Seto lifted his legs instinctually, hitting down just in time to springboard them further along the slope.

Excitement howled in Jounouchi's throat. There was terror, of course, that the doppelgängers were going to reach them. It only fuelled the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He imagined this to be some kind of minigame, and he'd be damned if he didn't want to do it again.

By the time they reached the end of the slope, his feet were pounding. He was quick to repair the lack of soles in his shoes. Moreover, he was pleased to look up and see the cascade of imps that rolled down but never made it to them. No doppelgängers in sight.

"See, I know what I'm doin'."

"Lucky, like before," Seto said.

"Don't start that again..." he sighed. "Jus' say 'good job, Katsuya' or 'neat idea, Katsuya' or 'you don't owe me anymore, Katsuya'."

"You still owe me," Seto deadpanned. They began to walk out a thin passage, moving one at a time along the rocks. "You saved me on the beach. I saved you on the bridge. Those are even out."

"Fine. Whatever," Jounouchi huffed.

What the hell was he really going to owe Seto by the end of this? Thanks didn't cut it. If he woke up, and Seto was the reason for it, there had to be something that was better than thanks. Something that was worthy of this grand adventure that they were going on. And yet, he wasn't even sure he would be able to say anything at all about it. Every time he considered waking up, there was a tremor. Not because of not knowing what the real world would bring, but because he wasn't sure that he wanted to even be in the real world anymore.

This place existed, didn't it? This room was growing. He saw cars, planes, lights. That must have meant there were people about to appear. Maybe they would after all the shards were complete. What use was the real world when he could have a place where he could both conjure everything he needed, and it had Seto in it. It was even a place where they were actually working out their problems! What better place could he live in than this dream? Just one long, never-ending dream.

"Katsuya?"

"Huh?"

"Are you coming?"

Jounouchi blinked. He had stalled at the entrance to a wide desert, sand dunes rippling like waves out in the distance. The permeating heat lines were enough to make him want to melt to begin with. That did seem like it would be a big, open space on a map. What a terrible thing to walk through. Again.

"I dunno 'bout you, but I have had enough desert for one lifetime," Jounouchi said.

The roar of the Red Eyes shifted his attention far to the left. Both dragon's were sniffing an opening that, Jounouchi guessed, was an alternate path if they had found it instead of where they had popped out from.

"Hey! Hey, over here you!" The Red Eyes looked up, snorted, and looked down again at the hole, biting into it. "Stupid dragon...listens about as good as a cat."

"And here you thought that you were going to catch my Blue Eyes, too," Seto chuckled. Already he wobbled towards the dragons, trying to call for the Blue Eyes as well but getting no response. A blast of White Lightning bounced off the rocks, shaking the canyon walls.

"Yours don't listen, either."

"Shut up."

Jounouchi chuckled, breaking out into a run towards the monsters, passing Seto by in an instant. The executive, for all his rushing, didn't have much energy in his step. Not that Jounouchi blamed him any. There had to be a way to heal him.

As he came up on the dragons, he was quick to see the struggle. The doppelgängers had emerged from the hole the dragons were chomping at, likely having taken that direction instead. They feigned kindness, hands up in surrender while they slid around to try and hop on their. For as much as they had been controlled down on the beach, now they seemed more aware of the difference, fighting tooth and talon swipe against their would-be captors.

Still, Jounouchi as too late. Once Seto's doppelgänger had mounted the Blue Eyes, the Red Eyes followed suit, dropping down and allowing for Jounouchi's doppelgänger to mount as well. With little warning, the Red Eyes jolted forward, hanging low to ground and speeding towards Jounouchi, it's talons bared. The blond crumpled just short of being hit head-on, his shirt caught and sheared through as he was dragged backwards. He pawed at the hook end of the talon, fighting with the shoulder of the shirt.

"Face it, I'm gonna make it to the shard before ya," his doppelgänger said. "Ya might as well give me the ring. Ain't like ya want it! Seto said ya didn't need it!"

Malicious, cruel, true. The doppelgänger knew him inside and out.

Finally, he freed himself from the snare of the talon, again being chaffed by sand as skidded through it, he wondered about the statement again. That they didn't need a ring. He wondered, for a moment, if they even needed it now. If he let the ring go, and they let the timer run out, maybe they would live in this world. Just them. No strings.

"Get up, Katsuya."

Jounouchi opened his eyes, staring up at Seto. A hand was extended to him, helping him to his feet while he brushed out sand. The doppelgängers were long gone, cackling left in the wind.

"Well...that sucks," Jounouchi said. "That's gotta be the easiest way to get to wherever the hell we're goin'..."

"You think?"

"Nope. I know."

The sigh didn't have to be said between them for both of them to start walking. The orb didn't even need to be consulted, other than to check how close they were to the next location.

It felt like hours of walking, with little end in sight other than the promise that they were getting closer. Each time Jounouchi tried to conjure some mode of transportation, he was stopped. It seemed the same as when Seto tried to make a car. Almost there, like an apparition, before fading away. He gave up, concluding that the game didn't want to make it easy unless dragons were involved. He almost couldn't be mad at it, even if it wasn't convenient.

The longer they walked, the worse the heat became. The sun was high in the sky, bearing down and leaving no shadows beneath their feet. He had taken off his shirt and pulled it over his head, blocking out most of the sun, before finally caving to conjure an ice pack to settle across his neck. It dawned on him that he had no thirst, and hadn't had any hunger for this entire time, yet he still craved the taste of water to wash out the sand penetrated every pore it could. He didn't even want to talk, it was so dry.

Seto had shaded himself in something similar, finally choosing to change into a white shirt, an umbrella flicked up over his head. His face was scrunched as if in pain, though he denied it no matter how many times he was asked. It was a different suffering, one that he couldn't explain in words but Jounouchi could see was draining him. He looked tired. Hazy. Not all together there. The entire time, his hand was pressed over the wound, hiding the glow as it seeped between his fingers. It made Jounouchi stay close, preparing for the worst.

"So I was thinkin'," Jounouchi said, hovering close to get beneath the shade of the umbrella, "what do you think happens if we lose?"

"We won't."

"But if we do? If the timer runs out?" Jounouchi asked. Seto regarded him with eyes that were far too dim for a conscious person, that blinked too slow. But he looked off the side in thought before saying:

"Theoretically? Anything is possible. We could start back at the hub world, have...have to find the key again. We could restart here, in a new world. Or..."

The syllable was held out just a little too long, and Seto fought to find his footing against the shaking sands while Jounouchi pressed ahead of him. "Or what?"

"Or...you could not wake up."

"Yeah, I figured that one," Jounouchi said. "If that's the case then, what'll you do?"

The silence behind Jounouchi was annoying at best and insulting at worst. As if Seto couldn't even give him a response to the possibility of what might have to happen if they lost. He knew the man didn't take failure well, but at least he was passionate and, at times, obsessive enough to keep trying. That's all he needed to hear was that Seto would come back. Would keep trying.

Instead, he heard something 'thud' against the sand, looking back to find the umbrella blowing away in the stiff winds and sands ready to swallow Seto whole. Jounouchi ran back, kneeling beside the executive, his heart racing.

Seto's body was washed in the golden glow like the wound, almost transparent. "Shit, no, ya can't wake up yet. It's too soon," he said, putting his hands against Seto's shoulder. He wasn't gone yet. There had to be a way to keep him in the world.

Rolling him over, Jounouchi picked Seto up on his back and began to run across a tall dune, his feet sinking in. Every second he checked to make sure the arms, the legs, hadn't disappeared on him. As it if we're the first time Seto had ever vanished out of a reality...

And he saw it, far in the distance, with little palm trees and a wide berth of water. Water would wake Seto up, bring him back to the dreamworld.

It had to. He couldn't do this alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it’s the most unproposal proposal ever? 
> 
> Either way. There’s some ideas brewing in Jounouchi’s head....so we’ll see what happens XD will Kaiba be okay? Will he wake up? 
> 
> We’ll find out soon! 
> 
> I will be taking two weeks again, but literally because I will have zero internet access next week so! See you then!


	14. How Charged With Punishments the Scroll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brought to you by Celine Dion.

"This better be real, this better be real, this better be real..." Jounouchi muttered as he crossed the last short distance towards the oasis. Little bungalow houses came into view, palms trees sprouted around them. A far cry from the airplanes and cars he'd seen in the other regions, with the people living simple lives.

But there were people. That was all that mattered. Well, not people entirely, they were certainly NPCs, but they might have been able to explain what was going on with Seto.

Not that Jounouchi was sure about the knowledge. Whatever was most likely in his head, like Seto said, was filling in the gaps. Reasonably, any kind of information the people gave him was already something he or Seto had thought about, consciously or not. This was their minds; it could have been that simple. If Seto wanted it to be so simple. Then again, he wasn't sure if there anything ever so simple with Seto, only pure and logical.

Well. Not pure. No matter how much of a prude he was.

Despite the fact that he was carried Seto to his safety as he bumbled into the oasis, he was sure that he would be reprimanded for it. He could already hear Seto complaining about how 'undignified' it was. Which just made him laugh, because it was Seto unwilling to admit that he had needed the help in the first place. An argument that would die in the sand, likely with him nudging Seto's shoulder and fighting the urge to lean against it, countering their fight with comfort and the intimacy. Familiarity.

Even though it was ridiculously hot, so hot that any sand that touched his skin felt cold, he still liked the warmth of Seto against his back. It meant he was still alive, still there. Nothing sexual about it—not completely. Nothing beyond a few daydreams fluttering before his eyes.

Him. Seto. An Adirondack chair that neither fit in. Sitting beneath the shade of the palm trees.

Those thoughts were shaken away as he walked around the oasis. As much as he liked Seto on his back, he needed to set him down and find a way to wake him up, or better, heal the glowing wound.

His wandering was aimless for several minutes, peering into the colourful stalls of the miniature bazaar. He had no money, didn't know where he would even get money in this place, but all the shopkeepers nodded politely. Eventually, he stood by the wide pool of water. Just looking at it was cool and refreshing.

Giving into the temptation, and the heat, Jounouchi kicked off his shoes and inched his toes towards the edge.

"I wouldn't." Jounouchi froze. At first, he thought Seto had suddenly woke up to accost him, but the voice was too soft. "Only if you seek healing should you step in the water. A bath for the ill, it is."

Jounouchi craned his neck to get a better look at the man dressed in all white, eyes covered by a turban.

"Healin' eh? Heh, that's sorta convenient," Jounouchi said, and knelt beside the water, catching his reflection between the ripples of sunlight. "Can it heal anythin'?"

"Possibly."

"Possibly," Jounouchi repeated. Gently, he removed Seto off his back, clutching him by the shoulders to rest his back against Jounouchi's chest, revealing the bright wound. "What about this?"

"It is possible. You will have to see."

Jounouchi grumbled. What an answer. He liked it when games gave him a challenge, but the cryptic mysticism wasn't helping him. "Will it keep him here or not?" He demanded.

"Yes."

"All I needed to know. Thanks," he replied, curt. Getting somewhere now, but even getting somewhere meant that he carried Seto to the edge of the pool, letting his calves rest in the water that seemed to drift up his clothes and skin in an unnatural way. "He ain't gonna like this..."

"You question your care," the man said. A statement, not a question.

Jounouchi shrugged, looking back at the man sheepishly before he carried Seto into the water. The folds of his shirt were clutched and used to balance him so that he was submerged up to his neck, his head rested in Jounouchi's lap. His hands curled under Seto's chin, while his thumbs stroking along his sharp jawline. His heartbeat thrummed beneath Jounouchi's fingertips.

Whether or not he was meant to touch the water became a detail. Jounouchi's knees rested in it, and he dipped each hand in, one after the other, so he never had to let Seto's head bob away. After, he ran his wetted hands along Seto's flushed cheeks and through his bangs, wicking away any blood and touching the small, shimmering wound hidden in his hairline.

He wasn't sure how long he sat arched over the executive, admiring his calm features. His relaxed brow and unset jaw, lips parted. It was the expression he would catch in the morning, briefly, if he woke up before Seto's alarm had gone off. Pushing his head up a little closer, Jounouchi planted a kiss, short and sweet.

A heavy breath opened his lips wider, and his head dug into Jounouchi's thighs. While his eyes didn't open, the transparency dissipated from his limbs.

"Good," Jounouchi murmured. "Go on, get up. Ya keep tellin' me we ain't got any time, so ya have t' get up so we can finish this...we gotta wake me up, too, don't we? That's what you want, right? Me awake?"

Jounouchi's lips twitched at the question. Did Seto want him awake? He seemed hellbent on finishing the game thinking it would wake Jounouchi up, but there was still the lingering feeling that it wasn't for anything personal. Even when they touched, or kissed, or bickered.

"I dunno what you want," Jounouchi admitted, his knuckles running down Seto's cheek. "Can't say I ever really did. I jus' guessed and happened to get it right. Ain't that crazy? All the people in the world an' I could guess you right. No way you were that easy t' figure out. 'Bout as complicated as Yuug's puzzle was."

Jounouchi's hand slipped from Seto's face down to his neck, sliding into the fold of his collar. "I can't say if ya want me back; even you said ya don't know what's gonna happen on the outside—prolly nothin'. Go back to borin' and miserable. Heh, is it bad I hope that's both of us? Sure as hell looked like both of us, if you're keepin' pictures an' I..."

Clamping his jaw shut, Jounouchi shook his head. "Stay with me," he whispered. "When we win the game, jus' stay with me here so we can both keep goin' on these weird adventures."

Seto didn't reply.

Jounouchi hadn't expected him to. Somewhere deep down, however, he hoped Seto heard him and could consider the option. That way, he wouldn't have to repeat it. It sucked to admit he didn't have the courage to ask. But he knew better.

Sighing, Jounouchi looked around the oasis. There wasn't much there to hide any kind of memory, not like they had found before. They all seemed a little tucked away, in their respective pockets of reality. The only thing this place had going for it was a lot of sand, there and beyond.

Pulling the shirt off his head, Jounouchi placed it beneath Seto's to keep him propped up. The sand _still_ chaffed in the blond's pants. He didn't want to hear Seto complaining about all of it getting in his hair, though they should have been used to it by now.

From there, he crawled close to the pool, reaching in and taking the orb from Seto's pocket.

Each of the buttons was pressed. He lingered on the diagram of the gem for more than a few seconds, admiring their work, before moving onto the timer.

_52m...59s...58s...57s..._

"Shit, okay, let's see," Jounouchi muttered, and he pressed the button for the map. Their arrow hovered close to the dot. When he zoomed into the oasis, the little outlines of the bungalows appeared, and the arrow was inches away from the dot.

Briefly, he glanced down to Seto. "I'll be back. You keep...gettin' better, a'right?"

If he got close to the shard, he would drag Seto if he had to. Because he knew they were alone now. The doppelgängers could be anywhere, at any time, and they seemed to be on the trail of the shards just as much as he and Seto were. He wasn't going to let them get to the shard first.

Jounouchi walked to where the map said the shard was. Until the arrow hovered over it. He stood somewhere on the far end of the oasis, still close enough to see Seto, but nothing changed. No magical gate transported him somewhere that reasonably didn't belong in the middle of an oasis. Just an opening to vast wasteland of sand.

Irritated, he shook the orb. "Ya broke?" He asked. "I'm right here. Does Seto gotta be here, too?"

He doubted that, but saying it only added to his frustration. Every other shard had been easy. Find the dot, find the memory. Yet here he stood.

"What do you seek?" The man in the turban asked.

Jounouchi huffed. "This thing."

The man examined the orb, nodding. "Ahh. You're on a quest for the pieces six."

"Somethin' like that," Jounouchi said, shaking the orb again. "Says it should be right here."

"The sands hide many things," said the man. "We have long had a legend of the pieces six...that two travellers will come, and only they can open the crypt that hides an enormous treasure worthy of those who seek it. However...I had supposed the other pair of travellers I sent were capable of opening it."

Jounouchi's eyes widened. "Other travellers?"

"Not unlike yourselves."

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit..."Jounouchi shook his head. Moments before he was thinking about the doppelgängers, and here they were. Somehow, that felt like it was his fault. "Where's the crypt then, huh? If it ain't where the dot says it is?"

The man pointed out of the oasis, in the direction Jounouchi faced before. "An old stone door in the ground. But I should warn you: it takes not one to turn the tide, but two to go the length."

"Gotcha," Jounouchi said, though he barely listened, instead huddling back to Seto in time to see him stir to consciousness. Perfect. "Hey, mornin' sunshine, can ya stand?"

"Why am I wet?" Seto groaned.

"'Cause ya needed to be." Jounouchi knelt down by Seto and braced beside him, helping him stand, though he could feel Seto pull away, staggering to find his footing. "We gotta get goin'. Are ya a'right?"

"I'm fine."

Jounouchi clapped a hand on Seto's shoulder. "Don't lie."

"I never lie," he said. The hand was brushed away. "Why your sudden rush?"

"Our shadows are here already," Jounouchi replied. He began to lead them towards the where the man pointed.

"Wonderful."

"Prolly want to get to the shard before us."

"Without a doubt," Seto replied. He looked over himself, running his hand over the wet clothes to brush them dry. The water disappeared the instant it touched the ground. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Kinda." Jounouchi handed the orb back.

"That's not an answer."

"It's a good enough one," Jounouchi said. Barely a step forward Seto's arm thrust over his chest, shoving his sand-covered, button-up shirt into it. "What the—?"

Wordlessly, Seto kept ahead while Jounouchi shook the sand from his shirt, wondering why he hadn't just conjured a new shirt for him to wear. It was so easy to do that in this place, and yet Seto had went out of his way to collect and return the shirt.

Jounouchi smiled. Little wins.

Jogging to catch up to Seto at the edge of the landscape, they quietly searched for the entrance to the crypt. A stone door seemed like it would stand out in the sand, even if it was only the bright red of the canyon they had exited, but the sands were shifting. Short dunes made it hard to walk, let alone find anything. While Seto may have preferred to keep his distance and cover more area, Jounouchi was content to stay by his side and make sure he didn't fall over. The transparency was gone, and the light in the wound dulled, but the concern never faltered. If there was moment that it seemed like Seto would trip, Jounouchi would reach out, only to pull his hand back so it wasn't seen.

Asking for help may have been beneath Seto, but he was less afraid to stagger over and hold onto Jounouchi's shoulder to steady himself. Nothing was said; he waited until Seto was ready to move on.

It didn't take long to find the elevated slab, nearly hidden beneath a pile of sand too tall for the wind to make. It made his stomach sink. "They've been here."

"It appears so."

"So then...what's the plan?"

"I haven't considered one yet." Seto said as he cast the sand aside, his fingers tracing over the door. If it could be called a door. It was more like a vent, give or take some width. Crawling through it wouldn't be easy. "Depends on how they'll come at us."

"Like backstabbin' assholes," Jounouchi said. His finger traced the intricate designs, brushing sand from the hand prints. "That's all they've been doin'. Hittin' us from behind."

"And working together," Kaiba added.

Jounouchi scoffed. "Barely. 'Bout as well as you an' I do. But...maybe that's somethin' we can use against them. I don't really know how yet, but they've got to have some kind of weakness; it's not like they can read our minds," Jounouchi rambled. There were so many possibilities on how to take out the doppelgängers now that they knew healing wasn't an option. "Can they read our minds?"

"Pay attention, Katsuya."

"Right."

There was no question to either of them on how to open the door. Jounouchi pressed his left hand into the slot, while Seto rested his in the right. The stone slab shuddered open, pushing to the sides and pouring sand into a growing pile at the bottom far beneath them, to a place where only sunlight touched.

"That's a long way down," Jounouchi said, leaning over the hole. With a snap of his fingers, Seto conjured a ladder against the wall, though it sat unevenly against the sand. "The shadows can't make stuff, right?"

"As far as I'm aware."

"So that fall prolly hurt 'em."

Seto sighed. "To the extent they can be injured. Unless you forgot," he said. Jounouchi could feel a pair of eyes on him the entire time he stared into the dark, very likely cursed abyss. The way down was going to be tight, even with the ladder. "Well? Are you going?"

"A-after you."

"Pups first," Seto offered, a wry grin on his face.

Evening out his trembled breaths, Jounouchi wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and straightened himself out, carefully stepping down the ladder as it swayed against his weight.

Once down, there was nothing but black. A long hallway of nothing but an ominous noise, like a moan, somewhere in the distance. Jounouchi clutched the ladder, hovering close to the warm light. If he didn't know any better, the tunnel was breathing.

"Hurry up, wouldja?" Jounouchi demanded. He heard talking, though he couldn't make out the words. Seto came down shortly after, dropping from the ladder from the halfway point and landing in the sand. The ladder disappeared before he landed. "Show off. What took ya?"

"I was given this," he said, displaying a jar with water in. "He said it might help us."

"Must be from the oasis," Jounouchi said, taking the jar. The outside was chilled, and he looked up through the bottom. From there, he saw the man in the turban lingering over the doorway as it began to close, surrounding them in darkness. "Seto?"

Jounouchi reached out, his hand hitting air before he was able to grapple an arm. Realistically, he knew it was Seto, but a momentary fear hand him wonder if he had already been jumped by the doppelgängers. They were vulnerable in the darkness, especially from monsters made out of shadows.

Arms hugged tight around him, and he hook his chin into what he prayed was Seto's shoulder, drinking in his musk. A hint of fine cologne beneath the sweat and sand. "I'm right here."

"Yeah. 'Course ya are," Jounouchi laughed, nervous. "Who else would it be. I mean, ya jus' got down here. It's only a little dark. Ain't like it's gonna be dark forever..."

Seto grabbed Jounouchi's chin, planting a quick kiss, stalling his breath. "Stop talking; start moving."

Another snap of the fingers, and a lantern appeared in hand, giving them a circle of light to walk in. Jounouchi situated the jar of water on his hip, thinking it would be useful later, before they began down the long hallway.

They walked in silence. Quick paced. Passing a few carved images and small stone boxes, old tombs if one had to guess, that gave them no clear direction of where they needed to go. Even so, the path never split, only bent to the left for a long distance. The only reason the map was consulted was to be sure they were turning in the direction of the dot, as if they would have to burst through a wall to find it instead.

The echoes of their shoes, the moaning and breathing of the halls, and the occasional hiss of the sand made it hard for Jounouchi to articulate anything, but not for lack of trying. He looked up to Seto plenty of times, catching the glint of his eyes in the lantern light, and attempted to say something. Instead, he came up with plenty of maybes. Questions he didn't know how to ask; all the things he had been thinking about and had been rambling about to Seto's unconscious body.

Biting his lip, Jounouchi summoned up the courage to start. "You uh...when ya took the spear, you said it was 'cause you loved me, kinda," he paused. "Did ya really mean that?"

"I said I did."

"Yeah, I know. But blood loss can do funny things to people sometimes."

Seto's pace slowed. "You think I said it because I wasn't in my right mind?"

"I dunno." Jounouchi matched his pace, but refused to stop. "That's why I asked. I don't want there t' be any grey areas in all this."

Seto's lips pinched, and his eyes skirted back and forth, cheeks twitching. It was funny to watch him think before, and it still was now, though there were higher stakes with his question. "You're being ridiculous, Katsuya."

"I don't think so."

"That's on you then," Seto spat. His strides widened, though Jounouchi refused to be left in the dust.

"So you're ignorin' me now?" Jounouchi asked. "It's not a hard question to answer, Seto. Did you really mean what you said or was it just in the moment? I know ya meant eveythin' else you said. I know you don't trust me, I know you think I hate you, I know that you're hurt. I'm hurt too, ya know."

"Will affirming your stupid questions make you feel better?" Seto asked.

"It might!"

His voice carried. Somewhere, he was sure that footsteps rang loud, with someone running almost parallel to them, though Seto had stopped walking in favour of glaring at the floor. "Katsuya, I don't know how dense you are, but I think you should know that I..."he paused, and beneath the shadows of the lantern he bit his lip and looked away. "I still love you. Somehow."

Bitterness hung in the executive's voice. A hint of unease that Jounouchi wouldn't have heard if he hadn't been around Seto for so long. As if he were mourning the loss of something and was still angry that he had lost it. Pain was a terrible thing to cling to.

"And I'm the same," Jounouchi said. Tension eased in Seto's shoulders, though only just.

"Good. Now, let's go."

Jounouchi nodded, almost satisfied. Almost. The courage rose in his belly, though. The courage he didn't think he had earlier as he asked: "What do ya want t' happen after this? You asked about what I expected but...what do _you_ expect?"

Seto scoffed, looking off to the large circular room ahead of them. What Jounouchi wouldn't give to see what Seto was thinking; how many millions of thoughts that must have been running rampant in his mind. His silence betrayed nothing up until he pinched the bridge of his nose when they stood in the dead centre of the room.

"This isn't the time for this."

"Then ya don't know?"

"No," Seto said. "I choose not to answer."

"Ya made me answer. Now it's your turn," Jounouchi said. Seto stepped forward, but Jounouchi wheeled around, planting in front of him. "Ya can't hurt me anymore than ya already have. So take your best shot."

The corners of Seto's mouth drew up, teeth bared. In the dancing shadows of the room, he was reminded of the doppelgänger. "Don't make it a challenge, pup."

But he already had. They both knew it. "Answer. The. Question."

Seto looked beyond him, to a room in the distance. Something was there that had caught his attention, though Jounouchi demanded, with dangerous curiosity, the answer that he may not have wanted. But when did Seto ever spare his feelings?

"If you wake up, and you remember, we'll see where it goes," Seto replied. The anger still simmered in the answer.

"Was that so hard to—?"

Seto raised his hand. "Quiet, I'm not finished," he said. A pregnant pause, a breath, before: "If you wake up, and you don't remember any of this, then we're better off staying as we were."

Confused, flabbergasted, lost. All of those felt too simple to express. His jaw ticked, lips flapped, but all the words bottled in his throat. If he didn't remember, then they would stay like before. Miserable and alone.

Seto moved on, stepping around Jounouchi and towards the next chamber. As he passed the threshold, the lantern light extinguished, filling the room with acrid smoke. Jounouchi's eyes watered, but he wasn't sure the smoke was the cause.

"Don't do that to yourself," he finally said.

"I've made up my mind."

"But you'll still remember everythin', right?"

"I will," Seto said. The lantern vanished from his hand.

"Then why do that t' yourself?" Jounouchi asked, stepping up from behind. An ear had been turned towards him, but no more. He hoped Seto was having a hard time facing this decision. "If I don't remember, we can jus'...start over."

A soft cackle filled the room. In the dimness, with more shadows haloed around Seto's lanky figure, Jounouchi continued to wonder whether or not the doppelgänger was pressed to him. Manipulating him. "From where, Katsuya? From when you entered the game? Or from when you threw away the ring? You really think your mind, or your body, would be ready for that?" He asked. Another step into the room, and they began to enter a void. "You'll be recovering. For months. Years. However long it takes you to get back to whatever your normal was. The last thing I need to do is hold onto hope."

"I'll get over it."

"Please," Seto scoffed.

"I won't be angry."

"You were angry when you entered here!" Seto cried. "And you'll be angry if you wake up and see me standing over you without knowing why. This won't be one of your's and Mokuba's stupid hospital dramas; I won't sit and hold your hand through your struggle and hope, by some miracle, that we come back together. It's asinine and foolish."

"...an' you aren't willing to make a fool of yourself."

"I'm not willing to lose something twice," he hissed.

Back to the defeat. The will to never be lose, a marked flaw that Seto had worked on over the years. He took defeat in silent stride, taking it as an opportunity to grow. But that was with cards. With games. With business.

People? People were different. They left wounds and scars. They broke others to bend them to their will and their want and if they left, the only remainders were the mangled pieces left behind. Especially when they left. And Seto had far too many people leave or abandon him. Jounouchi almost couldn't blame him for not wanting to, in some ways, be betrayed for a second time.

"Are we done here?" Seto asked.

Weakly, Jounouchi nodded. His fists clenched, but the argument was hard to counter. If he were in Seto's shoes, it would have been the same. All the more reason to just live their life in the game.

Another few steps, and the room illuminated itself with his shout, showing off a simple room filled with wide-panes windows. In the centre was a dining room table, covered in white cloth and set for two, a floppy-haired, blond mannequins relaxed at it. Their dining room table, once. With his seat adjacent to Seto's, a place where he was close enough to steal off Seto's plate, or force to him to eat, whichever are first. A place where they would quietly talk about their day, where Jounouchi could stealthily (or not so much) grab for whatever Seto was working on, be it a tablet, phone, or a scratch notebook, and sit on it.

"Let's get this over with," said Seto wearily.

Touching the arm, life breathed into the mannequin, and the scene brightened when more sunlight washed through the windows. Jounouchi's double, raked his fingers through his hair, scribbling on a piece of paper before scratching it out.

Viciously, he scrubbed his hands over his face and ripped the paper from the notebook, putting it in a pile with all the rest. "Okay so, I got one line. 'Nothing about this is easy, not that there is anything really good about difficult, either'. No...not 'either', that sounds dumb. Be more eloquent, Kat."

Seto drifted close, expressionless but focused.

"So...'nothing...about...this...is easy..."Jounouchi's double muttered as he wrote, brushing the paper off before moving down through the next line. "These...years...have been something...to cherish..." he stopped writing, looking to the ceiling, "hm, maybe that's too cheesy."

While Jounouchi kept his distance from a bristled Seto, he settled closer, leaning against one of the chairs. His double stuck the pen under his chin before sticking the cap in his mouth.

"Oh! Maybe somethin' like..."he scribbled, like fire was behind his pen, filling half the page. "Yeah, that's perfect. I mean, almost perfect. Gonna surprise the hell outta Seto with..."

"Surprise me with what?" Seto asked, entering.

Jounouchi's double jumped, and reflexively his hand scrunched up the paper, pulling it from the spiral and crumbling it in his hand. "Nothin'. Jus' uh...been thinkin' about...uh..." he looked to his hand, and the ring on it, "the ring! Yeah, the ring."

Seto's double sat at the table. "What about it?"

"Well," Jounouchi bobbed his head from side to side. "It's perfect, I like it a lot but I'm surprised that it isn't engraved or somethin'."

"Engraved?"

"Yeah. Like, it has some mushy sayin' on the inside. Something that only we know about."

Carefully, the balled up paper was slipped into Jounouchi's pocket. He still regarded Seto with an ear-to-ear grin, unable to fully hide his suspiciousness. Seto's double, though studying him, was more interested in the wine glass he was sipping on.

"So is that what this mess is about?" He asked.

Jounouchi's double shrugged. With the paper hidden, he placed his hands overtop one another on the table. "Sorta. Haven't come up with something yet, though. Jus'...occurred to me a little bit ago."

Dinner was brought to them, any more explanations spared as Jounouchi's double dug into the meal.

The real Seto was more focused on the papers still strewn over the tabletop, picked up by the maid after she brought Jounouchi a drink to go with dinner. "What were you working back then?" The real Seto asked.

"Jus' some of stuff."

Seto crossed his arms. "Clearly."

Jounouchi's lips flattened. "They were...they were vows. Kinda."

"Vows?" Seto asked, surprised. "As in wedding vows?"

Jounouchi stuck his tongue out. The jitters of the argument fell away and gave rise to the tremors of this new conversation. "Are there any other kind?"

"I suppose not. It looks as if you finished as I walked in," Seto said. A grin danced on his lips as Jounouchi's double fought not to spill something on his lap, nearly upending the wine glass in the process. "Did you?"

"More or less."

Before Seto could ask more questions, Seto's double said: "Be more careful."

The maid buzzed around, trying to help Jounouchi clean up the remnants of the mess, though he batted her away while dabbing at the stain on his shirt. "Maybe that should be the engravin'. 'Be more careful'. Isn't that bad of advice for a relationship."

"Mm."

"Or, let's see, what else ya tell me a lot?"

Seto's double arched a brow. "Am I going alphabetically?"

"Prick." The wine glass was raised, with a silent bout of laughter shared between them. "You always tell me 'be more punctual'."

"Good for a watch rather than a ring," Seto said. To which Jounouchi's double touched his bare wrist, hoping to hand over a watch he wasn't wearing. "I'll keep it in mind for next time."

"Eh, don't. That's just silly," Jounouchi said, returning back to eating. The wine glass was placed further away. "'Sides, ya told me it's alright that I waste your time. It's what I'm good at."

Seto knocked his head to the side in agreement. "Then, how about 'follow my lead'."

"Nah. Too...not us."

"How so? Said by me, to you," Seto said. "It could be construed as romantic in some way, depending on who reads it."

"No one's gonna read it," Jounouchi's double retorted. "Don't matter if they get it or not. It only matters if we get it. That it means somethin' to us. Romantic or not an'..."he looked up to Seto and down at his plate, "didn't think you would want it romantic. Ain't really our schtick."

The real Jounouchi rested his chin on his arms, watching himself squirm at the suggestion that it be a romantic phrase on the ring. He recalled feeling sheepish, as if Seto would be angry if he suggested some romantic gesture for the ring, considering the ring was already a step they hadn't suspected.

"Not really, no," Seto agreed. "But I wouldn't mind an engraving. We'll just find a compromise."

"Stranger things have happened," Jounouchi chuckled. Playfully, Seto smacked his hand before scooping it up, his thumb sliding over the ring. Dinner was long forgotten. "How 'bout 'just the two of us'."

"Terrible."

"'When two asshole's fall in love'."

Seto shook his head. "Too long."

"That's your problem with it?" Jounouchi's double scoffed. His hand curled under Seto's touch. "Well, if we're goin' mushy, prolly should have the word 'love' in it somewhere. Probably in English, since we're all cultured."

"English would be trashy," Seto's double countered. "I have a good one: 'property of Kaiba Seto'."

The devilish grin on Seto's face made both Jounouchi's begin to laugh, though the real one moreso, until his side's began to hurt, recalling what was about to be said. His double processed the comment with restraint. "If you want that so bad I'll get it tattooed on my ass, in English, jus' for fun."

"Your wrist," Seto offered, "so everyone can see it."

Jounouchi uprooted his hand, sliding it up Seto's arm and pulling him across the corner of the table. "Only if ya do the same for me."

"In your dreams."

"Then keep thinkin' 'bout the ring and not my ass, ass," Jounouchi said. He released Seto from the hold, only to have his arm pinned to the table, though his hand was taken and caressed instead. "If English is trashy, then what...? Spanish? French? Italian?"

"Latin."

Pursed lips, but no denial, said Jounouchi had agreed. Especially as he squeezed Seto's hand before letting it go. "Somethin' short in Latin 'bout love. That shouldn't be too hard. We could probably tack on duelin' in there somewhere, too. That could be our nerdy little joke."

Another eye roll, the wine glass stolen up and swirled. "There's a word I remember: it means both 'unconquered' and 'undefeated'. _Invictus_ ," Seto said. "Depends on how you use it, conjugate it, but both could work. 'Love is undefeated'. 'Love is unconquered'."

"Has a ring to it," Jounouchi said, his arms raised about his head. And he snorted. "Ha! Ring. There, we gotta do somethin' with it now. If it's got a ring to it."

The laughter between them ebbed and flowed like the tide. Always present, though sometimes more raucous than others. Like silence, the real Jounouchi thought, laughter was something shared between them like a secret language. They were comfortable in it.

It purred between them as Seto's double said: "Give me the ring; I'll have it sent out."

"What, ya really gonna put Latin on the thing?" Jounouchi's double asked, already attempting to pull the ring off.

"If it's acceptable."

Shades of red began to bloom on Jounouchi's face. "A little hoity-toity," Jounouchi said, slipping the ring off and pressing it into Seto's open palm. "But it's nice. I like it if you like it."

The real Jounouchi lifted from the chair, imagining that then continuing a mute dinner would fade out to nothing and the shard would show itself. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Seto drifting closer to his counterpart, hanging off the back of the chair. Waiting for something. After several moments, Jounouchi's double stood up, touching Seto's shoulder and squeezing. "Thanks, ya know."

"What for?"

"Dealin' with my nonsense."

Seto's double smirked, reaching for Jounouchi's hand as if pulled away. "I've put up with a lot more than just your nonsense, Katsuya," he said. His hand lingered on his shoulder.

"Yeah, true." Jounouchi headed towards the kitchen. "Ain't nothin' gonna defeat us; ring's gonna be proof of it. I got you. You got me," he said, the voice trailing off into a hum.

Seto's double leaned forward, and he stared at the ring, rolling it around his open palm before closing it in his fist and pressing it to his lips. He mouthed something inaudible and nodded, as if he had finished some internal argument.

The real Jounouchi canted his head to the side, just as intrigued by what he was seeing as he supposed Seto had been in the beginning. "What...happenin' there? Did I say somethin' wrong?"

"On the contrary. You said exactly the kind of thing I needed to hear," Seto replied.

"What, that I had your back?" Jounouchi asked, soft but incredulous. "I always had your back; I thought you knew that."

"Mm. Perhaps."

And there, as the double's head lifted and his eyes opened, did Jounouchi see the tears welling. Hands quickly covered those tears, wiping them away as he collected himself. One slipped through, clanking against the edge of the dinner plate before it rolled onto the floor.

The doubles faded into dust, leaving an empty dining room table. Jounouchi was already rooting around for the key in his pocket as he reached for the shard. Five of six wasn't bad. Though he was beginning to wonder what the last memory could be—they'd already seen the break up.

It was in the stretch of shadow that Jounouchi cast, mixed with Seto's and the table's, that his doppelgänger leapt from. It happened so fast, Jounouchi didn't know what happened until he was staring at the ceiling a little dazed.

He still swung into action, cartwheeling into a spin kick to twist himself off the ground. A body crushed into his, toppling him back over. It was pushed away, with Jounouchi praying it hadn't been Seto. From the deep shadows shred into it, he guessed it wasn't. Especially when Seto's glaive came baring down just beside him, edging it's way between him and the doppelgänger.

The sword and shield were conjured in time for him to be close-lined back to the ground, his shield covering his mid-section and, more importantly, the shard clutched in his hand.

"Get on your feet, Katsuya!" Seto ordered.

"I'm workin' on it!"

But he was sputtering. His head was spinning and his limbs tingled as he rolled onto his side. Narrowly, he was able to block the next oncoming attack, the sword recoiling from the shield. Stuck on his side, however, made him easy picking to be dragged out by the ankle and across the length of the room. "Hey! Hey, ya cut that out—!"

"Give me the shard," his doppelgänger offered. "We'll leave ya alone then."

"To hell you will."

Another glaive skewered close, striking him through the thigh and slicing down. This time, he didn't think Seto's aim was that bad. Not with the dark glow that surrounded the blade. It swung back to its master in time for Seto to get a few good swipes in, cutting deep into the arms and ribs of his own doppelgänger. It backed away, hissing, giving away the colours of the animal that it truly was, before it lunged for another attack.

Hands were running in short supply. One wrapped around the shard, the other brandishing a sword, all the while needing to cover the heavy bleeding and also use something to propel himself upward.

His doppelgänger was unrelenting. For every swipe Jounouchi made, there was another hit back, shivering from wrist to shoulder. "Jus' give me the shard! Ain't like ya want it anyways!"

"'Course...ngh...I do...Ahh."

"Ya can't hide nothin' from me," Jounouchi's doppelgänger said. "I know ya don't wanna leave here; jus' give me the shard. Then you won't have to worry 'bout it anymore. All off your hands. You get what you want, an' I get what I want."

"Ya don't have a clue what I want!" Jounouchi shouted. Adrenaline surged through him, allowing him to jump up and make a few quick bashes against the doppelgänger's sword-hand, hoping to knock it away with enough pressure.

"I know everything. Hopes. Dreams," he said, before lowering his tone, "desires. Why don't ya tell him?"

"Ngh...tell him what...?" The doppelgänger hit back, striking his shield with increasing strength, alternating between the sword and shield, giving him little time to move forward.

"Tell him ya want him here. Jus' him an' you, sittin' in a little tree. Doin' everythin' he's too ashamed to admit you would do," Jounouchi's doppelgänger said. Another hit. "Tell him!" Another. "Tell. Him." Another. "Tell Seto or I'll tell him for ya!"

It was the final blow that stunned Jounouchi enough to slacken his body. A moment where his defences were weakened, his limbs numb. His hand opened up against his will, the shard dropped on the ground. He lunged for it, scrapping along the ground until it was kicked away.

How pitiful he was. How strong his doppelgänger had become through the difficulty spikes. It was one thing to face a weak opponent, a strong opponent, a slow opponent. But this was different. A mix of psychological and physical, bearing down on him.

Still, he crawled over to where the shard was, the key pulled out of his pocket in a last ditch effort to call it. His doppelgänger stomped on it, prying it out from beneath the heel of his dress shoe. "Thanks, buddy. Really. This is gonna make all our dreams come true."

"Why you—,"

"C'mon. Don't be a sore loser! Fight with some honour, man! That's how it works."

"Quit talking!" Seto's doppelgänger reprimanded. He fought to hold Seto back, side-stepping as the shafts of their glaives kept even weight against one another. Seto grit his teeth, bared the weight. Every so often he looked over as Jounouchi attempted to pick himself up. "It's useless to talk to them. You have the shard, so let's go."

With that, Jounouchi's shadow fled through the door that led to the kitchen, something like a back exit. Seto's was shortly behind, but not without another glaive thrown at him, along with a short knife, though both missed.

With that, the shadows were gone. Lost in the rest of the darkness.

"Dammit," Jounouchi huffed. He pulled himself upright, hand pressed to the bleeding wound in his thigh. "Shit, we gotta go after them. Here, I..." as he went to stand, however, he fell back, catching himself on the table.

"Stop, Katsuya."

"We have to follow them!"

"And what? Fight them in this condition?" Seto spat. "We'll lose."

Jounouchi staggered forward, stumbling into Seto, holding on for support. "Then we need a plan," he said. They both walked forward, one step at a time, though Jounouchi forced himself to walk faster. He wasn't sure how fast the wound would heal, or what kind of damage it was going to bring, but it didn't hurt as much as Seto's he was sure. Still, he was happy he wasn't denied. "We have to figure out how t' get the shard back."

"That's simple." Seto said, grunting when Jounouchi came to a quick stop, re-examined himself, and continued. "Follow them to the next shard. Their goal is the key completed, just as ours is. Everything will be in one place there—we can finish this. Fight the doppelgängers. Get the key. Wake you up."

Jounouchi head dropped, wincing at the thought. What did waking up matter is Seto was such a cynic about it? "Yeah...wake me up..."

Yet still, they walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, the shard’s gone and they’re going into the endgame! So how will it end? Will Jou convince Seto to stay? Will Jou wake up? 
> 
> We got two more chapters to go! :3 see you next time!


	15. We Are the Masters of Our Fates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by Skillet

At the beginning of the fourth day, Mokuba was confident he'd gotten only a night's worth of actual sleep. He blinked slowly as Usami buzzed around Seto, checking various vitals and making small adjustments to the equipment before scribbling something on a clipboard. Once he finished, he went to say something, but Mokuba shook his head. "It's fine," he said. "Just work on Jou."

Usami bowed his head and turned to Jounouchi, beginning the same process.

There was no need to know anything unless it was better or worse. Stagnant meant nothing; he'd been through this before, watching Seto wither comatose (or whatever this was). Still, Mokuba stood and slid his arm under Seto's shoulders, carefully adjusting him to lay a little more relaxed before he inevitably began to writhe again, wide-eyed and willful.

"There, nii-sama," he said, angling the bed higher up, "that's gotta be more comfortable. You're still facing Jou, too. I...I guess that's what you want."

As if he could even begin to guess. He reached into a bag and dug out a button-up shirt, snapping out the wrinkles before throwing it over his shoulders.

"I brought you a change of clothes, too. I'll get you all set up a little later," he assured, mechanically buttoning up the top. "There's a few things in the office that need to get done today. Nothing big. Just the normal, boring stuff. But it's sort of piling up and Ebi-chan's been doing her best to keep up with it all. Once I go over some of the Academy details, I'll be back down. Maybe...two o' clock? Three depending on how long they talk. I'll make sure you get the final approval on things since that's sorta been your big plan. I...I don't want to step on your toes there."

With the last button done, Mokuba straightened his collar and stood to leave.

"I'm gonna be just upstairs. I'll hear about whatever's going on down here, so you two play nice," he said, jabbing a finger between them.

The door slid open and Mai stepped through, laughing.

"They know how to play nice?" She asked, winking at him as she passed. Mokuba suppressed a grin.

"Sometimes."

"Then you weren't around them enough," she said, plopping down in a chair beside Jounouchi. From there, she stared across at Seto, eyes wide and red lips flat. "What's going on?"

With a sigh, Mokuba went for the door. "Too long to explain right now. Let's just say that Seto has been trying to get Jou out of the coma and things have just...not been going as he thought they might've."

Mai's brows jumped. "Oh ho? Well, I never thought I'd hear that in a million years. Is that what he was playing with when I showed up a few days ago?"

"Yeah."

Crossing her arms, making herself comfortable in the chair, Mai smiled wryly. "Well...I guess it wasn't as one-sided as I thought it was."

Though he had one foot out the door, Mokuba stalled, wondering if he should have wasted the time to ask her what she meant by such a baiting statement. He knew what she meant. There was only one answer to his question: Jounouchi still had feelings. But there was something deeper. He could feel it with how innocent Mai was as she leaned on the bed, plucking at Jounouchi's hair once Usami finished the check-up.

"How...bad?"

"Hm?"

"How one-sided did you think it was?"

Mai shrugged, sliding her arms under her chest. "Well, he would tell me things all the time. About all these crazy plans for running into your brother. You know, things like waiting outside KaibaCorp. with a sign or...sliding into his car when he trying to leave. The story depended on how many drinks he'd had."

Canting his head, Mokuba backed out of the doorway. "He never told me anything like that."

"Strange. I thought you guys hung out."

"Yeah, of course we did," Mokuba said. "He's pretty much my best friend. I never stopped talking to him even after he and Seto broke up...but I don't..." His heart was pounding in his neck, and the room began to spin. "He's never mentioned anything like this to me. Not even when I asked. I mean, when he was super drunk he talked about sometimes missing Seto, but that's not the same."

Mokuba kept shaking his head. As much as he tolerated Mai, he wasn't so quick to believe what she was saying. Not without proof.

"Well, hun, I don't know why he wouldn't. Though I could take a guess why," she said, looking back at Mokuba long enough to catch his disbelief. Her head lowered, and her voice softened when she continued. "But, I know it was true. He wasn't just drunk. He showed me an old, crumpled piece of paper that he said he always carried on him. Vows, he said, though he never let me read them."

"You're joking."

"Why would I?" Mai asked, indignant. "It's not like I'm actually _trying_ to make things worse. He kept vows in his pocket. Probably still had them on him when he got hit."

Fists clenched, Mokuba fought for words, still shaking his head. His gaze shot to Seto, thinking his brother might have heard and it would suddenly wake him, as if this new bit of information would sort out his feeling better. Though, perhaps not anymore than whatever he was already doing inside of _Invictus_.

But there was something else that was hitting Mokuba just then, quelling any of his curiosity. Memories came flooding back, bits and pieces, from moments before the accident. As much as he had fought to remember all the details for the police, for the longest time, the only thing that stuck with him Jounouchi vaulting over the car and laying on the ground.

"He asked me something weird on the night of the accident," Mokuba said, squeezing his eyes closed and shifting his focus away from the trauma, regardless of how vivid and invasive it was. He began to pace between Mai and the door. "We were just talking, getting ready to head out, and he asked me if Seto was seeing anyone. I laughed and asked him 'why, are you gonna go tell them to back off?'"

"What did he say?" Mai asked.

"He said something like 'no, I was just curious'. But it was the first time he said anything, and he kept talking. So I listened.” His phone buzzed in his pocket, a message from Ebi-san, which urged him to the door again. "I just wish I remember the rest. He was doing all of the talking. But...I know it wasn't bad. I wasn't angry."

As hard as it was to remember that night, it was making Mokuba smile. Something about the vagueness of his memory of whatever Jounouchi was talking about put a warm feeling in his stomach. Seto wasn't the only one who had buried his feelings deep—there was hope.

"Anyways, I need to get going. Keep an eye on these two?" Mokuba asked.

Mai gave a thumbs up. "I'll let you know if anything special happens. Promise."

—

_39m...22s...21s...20s..._

Every step felt like a minute.

Jounouchi's boundless tenacity was the only thing that was pushing him forward, Kaiba assumed. The limp was too obvious, even as it became gradually better the longer they walked.

Still, he had been silent since they had left the earlier chamber, with a kaleidoscope of emotions rippling across his face. Occasionally, he mouthed something, though Kaiba couldn't make out what. It wasn't very often that he saw Jounouchi debating with himself over anything, or even remaining as silent as he was, but then, he hadn't heard what the doppelgänger said when Jounouchi was pinned down.

There were other things, too. Everything was coming to a headway; the last of the doppelgängers, the last of the shards. They stood at the precipice of the game and it almost seemed like they weren't any better than they started. Not by his standards. They had shaken off most of the anger, filled in the blanks of their break-up, but when it came to the question about what his expectations, he hadn't gave a complete answer. The truth was, he didn't know. He knew what he wanted: for Jounouchi to wake up. But that was it. There were no true expectations. It was impossible to have any, because there were too many variables, too many ifs, too many maybes. The scenarios in his head ran far and wide, innumerable and branching, hitting dead-end after dead-end. As relationships often did.

The unfortunate circumstance was that, unlike the game they were in, there was no replay. No chance to return to a save and try a different option. Everything from before had still happened, and Kaiba understood this explicitly. He wasn't sure Jounouchi did, though. Or maybe he did, and was now thinking about the vows. Or the ring. Or the kiss.

It could be that easy.

Flicking to the map, Kaiba checked their location. They were still drawing closer to the dot at the edge of the map. The crypt passage was twisting and winding, seeming to take them every way but the way they wanted, but they were getting closer. The question was if they would make it before time ran out.

Kaiba picked up the pace. Jounouchi followed, struggling and almost tripping over his feet several times where his right leg lagged behind. Had that been the leg he had broken, too?

"Slow down, Katsuya."

Jounouchi shook his head. "You're the one goin' on about time. We gotta go."

"We'll get there."

"Yeah, if this creepy old hallway ever ends," Jounouchi said with a breathy laugh, but it was hollow. Jaded. When he added nothing else, Kaiba was unsettled. There was clearly something hiding behind his eyes, and he had almost started before looking back to his feet, making sure didn't trip again.

"What's on your mind?" Kaiba asked.

"Nothin'."

"Something is. You're too quiet." Jounouchi said nothing, and they walked for a little while longer before Jounouchi began to laugh to himself. "What's so funny?"

"Not much..."

"Fine. I don't want to know then. It's probably stupid anyways."

Jounouchi's face screwed in annoyance, and he took longer steps to get ahead of Kaiba just enough to look him in the eye. "Well, if ya gotta know, it's what you just said, smarty-pants."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. 'Too quiet'...not somethin' I ever heard ya complain about before."

Kaiba's curiosity only grew. "It wasn't a complaint. Merely an observation."

"Yeah, well, whatever. Either way, it's kinda opposite what your shadow yelled at mine," Jounouchi said. He kept his stride just ahead of Kaiba's, the limp waning but the struggle still apparent. As if he didn't have full control over his leg. "Get what I mean?"

"Not really."

"You said: too quiet. He said: quit talking," Jounouchi explained.

"And?"

"I dunno. It's just funny. Super opposite, too."

Kaiba considered the statement, and felt it was obvious. "They _are_ opposites of us."

"Yeah. Us. Not each other," Jounouchi said. "Least, I don't think they are. They're tryin' to work together, kinda, but they don't really talk t' each other all that much. Just us."

Kaiba hummed. "Perhaps because we argue with one another."

Jounouchi chuckled. "Yeah, maybe. An' maybe that means we could get 'em t' argue, too. If they _really_ wanna be us."

Kaiba could see it, sort of. He wouldn't call it useful, but it was a keen observation. The doppelgängers were the darkest, most bitter sentiments towards each other. It would be reasonable that they didn’t talk much. After all, his shadow tried to convince him that he wanted to kill the real Jounouchi. Why wouldn't it feel the same towards the imitation?

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaiba caught Jounouchi beaming. Torch-light danced against the dimples in his cheeks made his smile thin and wide, almost cherubic, especially as he began laughing. "That's the plan! We gotta make 'em fight each other instead."

It was half of a plan at best. Something that was easier said than done, but he could see what Jounouchi meant. Still, one statement didn't make a whole case.

"So you want us to use their tactic against them?"

"Whaddya mean?" Jounouchi asked. Before Kaiba could answer, Jounouchi stumbled close to the wall, bracing into and laying his hand on his thigh. The glow was beginning to show from beneath his pants.

"Katsuya, what's wrong?"

Jounouchi laid his back against the wall. "Ngh...I'm fine."

"That's not what I asked you."

Honey eyes flickered tiredly beneath his lashes. A brief, pained expression in his face betrayed his grin. "Yeah, well, whatever. We gotta get movin' or we're gonna lose time. We got like a half-hour left or somethin'."

A grin popped onto Kaiba's face. It was amusing just similar they could be at times.

Giving Jounouchi a few seconds more, he checked the map, with the dot close at hand, before flicking to the timer.

_31m...46s...45s...44s..._

Pushing up from the wall, Jounouchi grabbed Kaiba's outstretched arm to stabilise himself. They walked together, with Kaiba letting Jounouchi set the pace. If the feeling was anything like he had gone through with the wound in his chest, it wasn't comfortable, even if it wasn't painful. Weird and unwanted.

Throughout the remainder of their silent trek, Kaiba thought about plenty of things, though he mostly wondered what the vows were and if Jounouchi was thinking about them. As important as the ring was in their lives, and as much as the engraving meant, it struck him that the memory started before that conversation. It was too deliberate in showing that the vows were there—especially since it was something that only Jounouchi knew about.

Just as he was prepared to ask, they turned a short corner and were standing in front of a set of stairs. The map showed them hovering right by the dot, as well. With little time to spare, he tabled the question, convincing himself that Jounouchi probably didn't remember what they were after two years.

There were more important matters at hand. Such as Jounouchi's clear fatigue beneath the mask of courage. Battle-ready, standing like a sentry with his sword and shield conjured. He wondered if the wound had the chance of making Jounouchi pass out mid-battle and leave him (and the key) vulnerable. Kaiba couldn't face the battle alone. There was no way he would fight two on one and make it anywhere.

"A'right!" Jounouchi declared, stomping up the steps. "Let's kick some ass."

"Wait."

Jounouchi looked back, but he didn't slow. "'Wait' what? We're right here."

"You're not ready yet," Kaiba said.

"Not ready? I got my stuff," Jounouchi replied, the sword and shield displayed as he turned around, careful to step up onto the stairs backwards. From there, Kaiba saw the glint from the oasis water jar. "You're the one not ready. Get your spear."

"Your leg."

Jounouchi's hand touched his thigh. "What about it?"

"It needs healed. You have the so-called health potion," Kaiba said. He jumped up the stairs and landed next to Jounouchi, reaching for the jar of water. Jounouchi flinched back, the jar angled behind his hip. "I don't have a problem wrestling you to the ground to get it."

"Careful there," Jounouchi teased. "Or I might think ya mean somethin' a little different."

"Be serious, Katsuya."

"I'm dead serious."

Kaiba jutted forward and reached for the jar while Jounouchi hopped up one step, two steps. "Ya want it, ya gotta come an' get it," Jounouchi challenged, and he bounded off, forcing Kaiba to follow up the step ascent of never-ending stairs.

For Jounouchi, it was a race to the top, a game to played, but for Kaiba it was a chance to find credibility in his cause. If Jounouchi stumbled, too weak to fight his way up a set of stairs, then Kaiba was prepared to argue that he couldn't even run around, much less fight, with the doppelgängers.

But Jounouchi didn't stop, or stumble, even when they reached the exit. He had begun laughing halfway through, his seriousness waning into something a little more playful. A game of keep-away that continued into a torrential onslaught of bone-chilling rain. Instantly, every inch of Kaiba became wetted. His clothes clung tight to his skin; his bangs flopped into his eyes; his body twitched and tremored as the icy droplets cut into his skin like glass.

Pushing his bangs from his eyes, Kaiba realised that he had lost Jounouchi in a sea of rolling fog, having followed splashing footsteps instead of the a true visual. Not even the shadow of a person staggered in front of him. Tentatively, he inched around the place, determined not to get anymore turned around in the thickening fog, rising from the stained glass floor. The same floor from Jounouchi's mind, Kaiba mused, down to the ripples of colour as the rain hit them until they bled together like an oil slick.

"Katsuya?" Kaiba called. His voice died in the hiss of rain.

A blur flittered by.

Hairs on the back of Kaiba's neck stood up. Though he was confident he wasn't alone, any sense of safety was lost once he and Jounouchi separated. A heavy swallow tried to calm his pounding heart, convinced that danger was imminent, ready to jump out of the swirling fog.

Splashing footsteps echoed.

Kaiba pivoted. The glance materialised between his hands, the blade poised out, cutting through the fog to try and widen his field of view. The clouds packed back together.

The adrenaline coupled with his frustration, and a headache began to form behind his eyes the harder he clenched his teeth. This was the absolute last time that they needed to be separated; failure felt like the only option, but he tried to flush that thought. They still had a few precious moments.

Holding out his hand, Kaiba attempted to dispel the fog, or the rain, or the cold. Anything to make this moment a little easier to handle. But nothing changed. A snap of the fingers. Nothing changed. And why would it? Being hopeful wasn't about to change the rules of the game.

"Level playing field," he whispered. "This isn't a fight...this is a challenge. Find the shard first and..."

A loud roar was Kaiba's only warning of the imminent attack. A burst of White Lightning cutting through the fog, flinging stained glass tiles like shrapnel in every direction. Narrowly, he held his arms in front of his face. They embedded into his hands and drew blood, though he didn't noticed until he lowered them and saw the blood dripping from his palms. His hands were so numb that the pain didn't even register.

"Blue Eyes!" He shouted, following the singed line of destruction it had left. The outline of the dragon, wings spread, sent him into full sprint. He slammed into its side and grabbed onto one of its plates, sliding around to its back to hop on. If he was going to find Jounouchi, this would be the way.

A glaive tip swung out inches shy of cutting through his nose and cheeks. Kaiba backpeddled, finding his footing on each side of the Blue Eye's tail.

"So close," his doppelgänger cackled. "Did you really think it would be _that_ easy?"

Out of the fog, the shadow emerged. It swung again, pushing Kaiba further backwards. He danced around the dragon's tail as it swept about, agitated by the battle that had suddenly began at it's backside. Thrust after thrust had Kaiba hopping about, narrowly dodging or blocking while he tried to find a weakness in his doppelgänger's stance. This was him! He wasn't the master of the glaive, it had just been the weapon of choice for the game. With that in mind, reasonably, there had to be some kind of opening he could exploit.

Each blow was more aggressive than the last. As he would expect from himself. The best defence was a good offence—subdue the enemy before they could even attack. Which put them in a stalemate, their shafts pressed against one another while one tried to gain more footing. Kaiba backed off and hit again, widening his footing to apply more pressure.

"I can do this all day," the doppelgänger said. "It's not like you or I have the shard, or the key."

Kaiba broke the stalemate by arcing the glaive around. It cut through the fog as his doppelgänger jumped back.

"You left the mutt all alone," his doppelgänger mocked. "You let him run ahead, chasing him like some petulant child. Indulging his whim is going to get him killed. I wonder," the doppelgänger thrust the blade down, "if that's what you wanted," the blade thrust across, slicing into Kaiba's shirt and exposing the glistening wound, "in the first place."

Kaiba's stance closed in to protect the wound, not wanting to know what would happen if it was struck again. "I suppose that's what you would want," he replied. His eyes flicked to the Blue Eyes as it lowered onto all fours, turning around to face them. "You don't want to be around Katsuya, do you?"

"Great minds think alike, don't they?" His doppelgänger replied. "He's nothing but a nuisance. Always have to make sure he isn't getting into trouble; always having to clean up after his messes. Useless. The only thing he's good for is taking orders."

Kaiba sneered. Such a terribly painted picture of Jounouchi. The kind of thoughts he was sure he had had at one point or another. Things he thought in the heat of the moment, annoyed and unwilling to see reason until he had simmered down.

"You hate him," Kaiba said.

"With every fibre of my being."

"Why?"

Slowly, Kaiba slid towards the Blue Eyes, waiting for the right moment to run and mount it. His doppelgänger seemed aware of the plan, closing in and sweeping the glaive through to fell Kaiba to the ground. The tip of the blade hurtled towards him, slicing through his forearm as he rolled out of the way.

"Why?" His doppelgänger straddled on top of him, jabbing the blade down as hard and as fast as he was able. The wide jabs made it easy to read, each move telegraphed just long enough that he could deflect the blade away from his face or throat. It didn't stop the small cuts in his cheek, in the crook of his neck, or the large hit that his shoulder took as the blade tip stuck between the floor tiles. The doppelgänger leaned inches from his face. "I think you know the answer. You're just hiding it behind your pretend 'affection'. You don't care about him—he's just been the newest tormentor in your life, and worst of all you let him in. Trusted him. Trust made you weak..."

The blade wriggled deeper into Kaiba's shoulder; not even the numbness could stop the hot pain searing through. It reduced his voice to pained whine, slipping out between clenched teeth. His vision wobbled, though he could still make out the manic grin, stretching further than humanly possible and showing the monster beneath.

Kaiba lifted his hand up, gripping the knife as it appeared, and stabbed it hilt-deep into the doppelgänger's thigh. The glaive lifted from Kaiba's shoulder and gave him to room to buck his attack off, making sure to take back the knife as the doppelgänger toppled onto the floor, screeching.

Forcing himself upright, Kaiba bolted to the Blue Eyes and climbed onto its back, kicking his heels into its side. "Up, now! Head in a circle!"

The dragon ran, gaining enough speed before kicking up off the ground and soaring forward. Kaiba hunkered down, curling his head down to shield him from the worst of the rain. His left arm hung uselessly at his side, tingling fingers loosely holding onto the knife. Warm blood seeped down his back. It wouldn’t be long before the wound healed itself, and he would be fighting the feeling of being sucked into another world. He almost preferred the pain.

Kaiba fought to keep the pain at bay, pooling all of his attention towards finding Jounouchi. There was little doubt that Jounouchi had already ran into trouble, especially if Kaiba had accidentally stumbled upon it.

"I need you to attack upwards, keep it off the ground," Kaiba commanded. The Blue Eyes snarled as it wound up the attack, bursting lighting through the fog clouds. It gave him enough view of the wide, endless world. So much space to cover, yet so little stretch of ground to see. Nothing. "Again!"

Kaiba was relentless, steering the Blue Eyes around in tight circles in his search. A wisp of a shadow here—the sound of voice there. Nothing definite. No Jounouchi stumbling out of the fog, waving his arms. Wherever he was, Kaiba hoped he was making better headway.

_22m...6s...5s...4s..._

Time was ticking.

* * *

Losing Seto hadn't been a part of Jounouchi's plan. Instead, he had meant for them to playfully run straight into the memory. Whatever it was had to be obvious, he figured. They would just end up bowling it over, starting the memory up and snatching the shard before the doppelgängers could think twice.

But he just ran, zig-zagging around while his hope of finding anything waned. Maybe the doppelgängers had found the shard already, and their only option was to fight them head on. Maybe they'd already lost, and they were just waiting for the timer to run out.

As those thoughts weighed on him, Jounouchi slowed, tired of their game. He hoped that Seto had a better idea. He didn't have time to turn and ask, instead being roughly thrown to the ground. "Hey! C'mon, get offa me...! I'll give ya the damn jar, sheesh I..."

But as Jounouchi tossed the weight off his back, he turned and realised that, at some point, whoever was following him had stopped being Seto. His own face stared back at him, grinning wildly. It went in for an attacking, shield-bashing Jounouchi in the arm where he, in a scramble to prepare himself, raised his his sword instead of his shield. The tip of his own blade almost hit him in the breast.

Jounouchi rolled back, scampering to stand and shaking off the tingling and the numbness. At least the rain was useful: he wouldn't feel most of the pain being inflicted on him. Coming out of this battle unscathed was going to more than impossible.

"What'd ya do with the shard, eh?" Jounouchi asked. He flung the sword around, steel striking steel. He jumped back, circled about and attacked again. "Ain't like you can do anythin' with it."

"Not yet. But you got the ring."

"You ain't gettin' it!" Jounouchi said. He swung the sword high, and his doppelgänger ducked. He went to smash the edge of the shield on its neck, grimacing to the thought. He'd be breaking his own neck. Was Seto having those kinds of thoughts, or was he was logical about it?

His doppelgänger pommeled him in the stomach, and Jounouchi stumbled backwards as he folded over. He sputtered, chuckling to himself as he crouched further down, covering himself from a jump assault. "You’re gonna hafta try harder than that."

"Give it up."

Another hit.

"Nope."

"It's useless to ya."

Another.

"Yeah right. We both know it's the most important thing in here," Jounouchi said. He jumped out of the way of a slice and swung to cut his doppelgänger's elbow. It howled, somewhere between human and animal, before a flurry of swings came his direction. Maybe thinking of this thing like a wild animal would make it easier to kill.

"You don't wanna wake up," his doppelgänger said between swings.

"Says you," Jounouchi sneered. Another strike dented the shield inward. At the rate the shield was hit, it was going to be wore out. He hoped, if it did break, he could just make another one.

In the distance, he saw flashes of light breaking through the sky. Lightning, bright and long, stretched far into the visible distance. Silhouettes danced in the fog, tempting him to believe there were more enemies around than just the doppelgängers. But then, they had a dragon, assuming that Seto had taken the reigns of it.

"I know ya don't want to wake up," the doppelgänger said. The pair began to circle one another, two warriors in a standoff, waiting for the other to make the next move. "Because ya know what's gonna happen when ya wake up? You an' Seto are never gonna see each other again. He said so. If ya don't remember nothin', he ain't gonna try. He ain't gonna care for ya. Like he ever did..."

"Course he did."

"Sure, when you were bein' a fuck up."

It hurt to hear the truth, but it wasn't something he hadn't thought to himself a thousand times before. It was easy to fall prey to the malicious thoughts of how bad Seto could be when those were the only memories he ever thought about night after night, month after month. Picked apart and analysed, agonised over as if they were the only things that had ever happened in their relationship. He even took some joy out of hoping that he wasn't alone; that Seto was also suffering because of just how harsh everything had ended.

But then, _Invictus_ was showing him something different. Showing him the things that he only remembered in drunken reveries. The kinds of things, he imagined, that Seto had tried to rid himself of only because they were the moments that made them second guess themselves and ask what their relationship meant. How it mattered to them.

"Bein' a fuck up is just somethin' he's gotta live with," Jounouchi said. "He did it for a long damn time; ain't like me bein' a fuck up is what the problem was anyways."

The doppelgänger burst forward, breaking the standoff with his sword pointed forward. Jounouchi side-stepped him, quickly turning to give it a solid kick in the back. The doppelgänger snarled, whipping around with a sharp cut of the sword catching Jounouchi as he fumbled away. His leg shook, the knee ready to give out.

Whatever the hell was going on with the cut felt like his muscle was trying to crawl out from beneath his skin. His knee wobbled to keep his leg upright. It made making simple dodges difficult, resorting to using the sword and shield instead. Kicking the shadow was a bad idea, but it was worth it, he supposed.

"You're right! That wasn't the problem. Seto was the damn problem, wasn't he?" The doppelgänger accused. Their swords clashed again, blow after blow, before Jounouchi knocked the doppelgänger away.

Odd. A change of accusations. "What the hell ya goin' on about now?"

"I hate his guts, just like you do. Always havin' to be right. He didn't even say sorry for the break-up, jus' showed ya how bad you fucked up. Like it's all your damn fault." Another flurry of attacks, this time with Jounouchi on the defensive. He saw the Blue Eyes nearing them, able to recognize it’s silhouette anywhere. He just had to bide his time. "Always bein' the bully; can't be kind or else he'll show weakness."

"To you maybe." The doppelgänger clenched it's teeth and swung so hard that it stumbled forward. Sword still in hand, Jounouchi threw out a punch, making contact with its cheek and didn't stop. "I bet he don't trust ya, neither. Puts ya down. Gives ya orders. You ain't his partner, you're his damn lackey."

The doppelgänger grabbed Jounouchi's fist, but it had already done its damage. Between the spaces of shadow still swirling on its face, purple blood dribbled down its nose and from the corners of its mouth. It's eyes narrowed and widened, stumbling backwards as it geared up a punch of its own. Jounouchi covered with the shield before quick jabbing with the left and hitting the doppelgänger in the face again. It fell onto it's back.

"Katsuya!"

Jounouchi's head shot up, grinning at the sound of Seto's voice. It vanished just as fast, seeing Seto's doppelgänger limping closer to Jounouchi's, staring down at it malcontented before toeing it in the side.

"Get up," it demanded. Jounouchi's doppelgänger moaned. "Is he really that much of a challenge? You still have the shard don't you?"

"...yeah..."

"Then get up."

Jounouchi slowly backed away, searching the sky for the outline of the Blue Eyes that he thought was going to be landing. Maybe it had, dropping off Seto's doppelgänger before flying away. He begged to know where Seto was then, if he was anywhere. With how banged up his shadow was, it could have been too late.

No. Jounouchi shook the thought. There was no way that Seto been defeated.

Before he knew it, keeping to the defence had him surrounded. Seto's doppelgänger on one side, his own on the other. Circling him like sharks looking for fresh meat. He was able to repel the attack of one, but only in time to toss it towards the other, with little care on who it was. It didn't matter, they were both terrifying, relentlessly assaulting. Jeering at him as they cut into him, taking him apart piece by piece.

But they were stumbling over one another. Whenever Jounouchi would pick up his own doppelgänger and throw it into Seto's, he found Seto also throwing him off, barking insults at him. "Keep on your feet, mutt!" Or "Are you blind! How could you let him do that to you, again!"

Jounouchi hid his smile. That was their answer: the in-fighting. He had made a joke of it earlier, casually, and almost forgot it amidst the battle. But Seto hadn't thought he was joking.

 _Use their tactic against them_.

If it didn't defeat them, at least it would buy him time. However much they had left of it.

"Ain't you two just balls of freakin' sunshine," Jounouchi said. He staggered to the side, the feeling in his leg insurmountable. It was easier to stay in one place and just take the pummelling as they flung towards him, twisting and turning to try and avoid the hits. He wasn't sure if it was blood or water pooling in his shoes. "Ya know what this thing told me, Seto? Huh... ngh..." his own doppelgänger was pushing his backwards, closer and closer to the outstretched glaive tip. Slowly impaled...at least he and Seto would match. "He told me he hates your guts! Ain't that somethin'."

Jounouchi pressed his weight onto his good leg, lifting his doppelgänger and tossing him to the ground, falling with him.

He had to give it to the shadow. It took cues rather well, forgoing the sword and shield in favour of fists. Those were far easier to take, each one landing with a grunt while they wrestled around, keenly aware that Seto's doppelgänger was trying to filet him in the process.

White Lightning missed, singeing the hairs over Jounouchi's ear, leaving a destructive path of jutted tiles in its wake. He grabbed one of the loose pieces, stabbing it deep into his doppelgänger's arm, kicking it off as it recoiled upwards.

A bloody hand grabbed his, yanking him upright.

"You owe me a third time," Seto said.

Flinching, Jounouchi looked back, drinking in Seto with a healthy dose of skepticism. He was white as sheet, torn and bleeding. A deep wound in his shoulder was beginning to glow. But his blood was red, at least. He was the real thing. "Where the hell ya been?"

"I could ask you the same question," Seto said. Anger and fear wound together in his voice. He examined Jounouchi head to toe, lips flattening the more he saw. "You ran ahead again."

"Yeah," Jounouchi agreed, "thought we'd get t' the shard or somethin'. An' maybe you'd enjoy the view."

Seto smirked. "I was looking at your leg."

"Leg. Ass. Same area," Jounouchi said, grinning.

Seto looked off, shaking his head. His cheeks were pinched tight, fighting off laughter. Looking the same way Seto had, Jounouchi caught sight of the doppelgängers trying to pull themselves together, bickering with one another loudly. "Do me a favour," Jounouchi said, catching Seto's attention, "don't go lookin' at his ass, a'right? I know they're close but..." A short, sarcastic laugh popped out of Seto. Jounouchi slapped his arm lightly. "Made ya laugh."

"You didn't."

"Uh-huh," Jounouchi rolled his eyes, focusing his attention on the doppelgängers as they began to advance. "So...what we we doin'? I got 'em arguin' like we were talkin' about, but they ain't exactly at each other's throats."

"Yet."

Yet. Yet was a good word.

The normal maniacal grins the doppelgängers sported had been wiped away, replaced with a viciousness that was shared for Seto and Jounouchi, but also in angry glances towards one another. They kept a safe distance, as if one might go rogue any moment.

"Think we can get 'em there?"

Seto stepped in front of Jounouchi when the blond doppelgänger launched towards them, summoning the glaive to his hand and derailing the forward attack. Jounouchi's doppelgänger stumbled towards the ground, making swipes at their ankles while Seto's doppelgänger began to slither off to the side, taking up their backside.

Jounouchi wasn't about to let it happen, running out against the weakness in his leg and plowing into Seto's doppelgänger. He landed against the shaft of the glaive, and it wound around his sword arm, pinning it vertically to the doppelgänger's chest. Jounouchi tugged away, his arm further wrapped up as he tried to twist around, to thrust the butt of the sword into the doppelgänger's jaw.

The glaive began to push downwards, bending Jounouchi's arm to such a backwards degree that he dropped his sword, unable to feel his fingers. His gasps were held in, his breath shortening as he anticipated the sickened snap. Every attempt to doppelgänger was made, striking it with the edge of the shield. "So weak...and he won't even help you..."the shadow whispered.

"He's...ngh...a little preoccupied..."

Between the rain and the tears flecking his vision, Jounouchi saw where Seto was waging a one handed battle, his glaive held beneath his arm while he constantly defended his bad shoulder. The range was his only ally, keeping Jounouchi's doppelgänger at bay, making quick cuts, thrusting the shield out of the way and jabbing before hopping backwards again.

Seto glanced back, eyes widening to Jounouchi's predicament. Whether it was fear, or fervour, Jounouchi wasn't quite sure, but Seto went into overdrive, hitting the doppelgänger in the face broadside, striking it to the ground, before pivoting around towards Jounouchi.

A painful thought whizzed through Jounouchi's mind as Seto charged. The more he bucked around, the closer to drew to the doppelgänger. Their bodies brushing against one another. Swallowing any fear he shouted: "Run 'im through!"

"Are you insane?"

"Trust me, Seto!" The executive was shaking his head, but his pace didn't slow. Barking laughter boomed in his ear. "Jus' do it!"

Jounouchi had no expectations. Whether Seto faltered or not, there was no blame. Accepting the command meant them working together, declining meant he cared too much to see Jounouchi in pain. They won either way. He just hoped Seto saw it that way, because he accepted his fate in the seconds of space between him and the blade.

He smiled when the blade ran him through.

"This is the stupidest thing you have ever thought of," Seto whispered.

"...yeah...for now..."

But the doppelgänger had stopped laughing. Or talking. Only screeched like the monster that it was, fighting to get out of the hold of the blade. The rainwater around its ankles became a diluted violet as it held onto the wound in its stomach, curling inwards.

Seto eased the blade out, catching Jounouchi as he planted his face in Seto's shoulder, drowning himself in the scent that couldn't be washed away, even in the rain. He had to force himself to stand up, even when every synapse told him to lie down and sleep this off. If he would even be sleeping. Could he even sleep in a dream?

He felt Seto pull him in closer, to the point that whatever lingering body heat remained was shared between them. Chest to chest, hip to hip. It was a moment he would have preferred to stay for as long as possible. But the fight wasn't over yet. Only then could he rest, curled up into Seto's chest, and heal once this was all done with. They were close, he could feel it.

His doppelgänger was pulling up from the ground, running forward in a manic thrust towards them. From behind, Seto's did the same, gathering what strength it could manage, covering the oozing wound with its hand.

"...they're comin'..."

Seto nodded. "Be ready to move."

Jounouchi sucked in a breath. Everything looked more like streaks of paint than actual people or things. Whether it was caused by the pain, or the rain, he wasn't sure. He just knew that Seto's arm snaked around him and they lurched backwards, just in time to hear the doppelgänger's blades slam into one another.

"You stupid mutt, watch where you're going!" Seto's doppelgänger yelled, pushing Jounouchi's away.

"I'm tryin'!"

"Try harder," Seto's doppelgänger ordered. It strafed around them, creating distance between him and Jounouchi's shadow.

All their little failures piled together, showing each time they attempted to attack while Seto and Jounouchi dodged out of the way, moving left of right. They were cohesive, one living unit, not bucking one off the other as the doppelgängers did, again and again, after every attack. Each time, the verbal berating became worse and worse, landing blows at one another until they got to the point that they nearly brandished weapons at one another before Seto's doppelgänger demanded that Jounouchi's head to the other side of the arena.

"Get to my back," Seto said.

"...got a plan...?"

"Yes. Let them finish themselves off."

It felt dangerous. They stood between the doppelgängers like a target, one coming from the north, one from the south. They were telecasted just far enough that he and Seto could have moved out of the way, but he imagined that their time was short and that Seto was done with playing.

Jounouchi crept around from Seto's chest to his back. The executive never let him go, offering his good arm as a way to steady Jounouchi until he reached the spot. Once there, he straightened himself so every inch of his back was against Seto's. From there, Seto reached back, linking arms with Jounouchi and pressing him tighter.

"When I say 'now' drop to the ground," said Seto.

Jounouchi nodded. That wouldn't be hard. It was just intimidating, watching as the doppelgängers wound themselves up and began their semi-coordinated assault. It looked good, at least, but their inability to stay close would be their downfall. A literal 'fighting one another', without the words.

There was no time to process anything. Not with how fast the assault was coming. They were locked into this now, no going back. And Jounouchi was just fine with that. Just like Seto had trusted his dumb plan, he trusted Seto's without hesitation. And when the doppelgängers were on them, inches from colliding, Seto shouted: "Now!"

They fell together, as if their legs had been cut out from underneath them, and they sat down beside one another, falling into a pile of knees and elbows fighting to find room and stretch.

The howl between the doppelgängers was thunderous. They crashed into one another, unable to stop themselves until it was too late. It wasn't as terrible as Jounouchi imagined it would be. They disappeared into a swirling, miasmic cloud that was quickly swept away by the wind and the rain, as if they had never existed in the first place.

The shard fell between them. Jounouchi's slapped his hand over it and turned to Seto, victorious. In the waning excitement, an expression cracked onto Seto's face that Jounouchi couldn't fully decipher, though he felt deep down.

"That coulda been us, huh?" Jounouchi asked.

"Could have?" Seto replied.

A sad smile popped onto Jounouchi's face. "Again, I mean."

They sat in silence, with Jounouchi leaning forward and pressing his head into Seto's shoulder again, fighting the pain that was crawling through his gut and threatening to pull him inside out. "You need to heal now, or we won't make it."

"Yeah," Jounouchi nodded. "Gotta find the last shard, huh?"

The jar was taken from Jounouchi's waist and opened. Seto wasted no time dousing all manner of wounds, spreading most of the water against Jounouchi's abdomen. As if he could tell whether or not it was going anywhere in the rain. Maybe Seto knew better than him. "That's enough," Jounouchi said, covering the top of the jar and stealing it back before the last of the water was used on him. He dumped the remainder over the cut in Seto's shoulder, shaking out every last drop. "How much time we got left?"

Seto produced the orb.

_9m...32s...31s...30s..._

Taking the key from his pocket, Jounouchi let the shard fling into its place holder. His eyes were closed before the light could even blind him, though the burst and blown away the wind and the rain. Once he opened his eyes again, he was met with a completely different place.

No fog. No wind. No rain. Not even an outside, in fact.

They sat in the middle of an apartment landing, under the soft, warm glow of an overhead light. A single door occupied the floor, with a 'Welcome' mat placed evenly in front of it. It seemed plain, overall, but Jounouchi didn't have to even guess at where they were.

Mokuba's apartment.

But he didn't have the faintest idea why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so....weird....it was very hard to find a definite decision to beat the doppelgängers. I hope you like it! 
> 
> Also...hm, why Mokuba’s apartment? 
> 
> There is still a little more to resolve but! One more chapter. See ya next week for the finale! :3


	16. We Are the Captains of Our Souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by ‘Wicked Games’ by Theory of a Deadman.

“We...got any special memories here?" Jounouchi asked.

"Depends on what you define as 'special'," Seto replied as he made a short lap around the landing, flicking off the bone-chilling rain and making quick repairs to his clothes. It reminded Jounouchi to do the same, though he paused to stare at his trembling hands.

"Somethin' like the rest of them, I guess," Jounouchi said, his shivering hands balled into fists.

It wasn't just the cold. He could take care of that with a snap of the fingers, a flick of the wrist, same as Seto. What he felt, what shook him, was a nervous anticipation that numbed his mind and filled his stomach with butterflies. Or hornets. Maybe both.

Definitely both.

Mokuba's apartment door signalled the end. The final memory. The last shard. The grand finale. It was the final cutscene for everything that they had worked so hard for and almost lost. The reason they were torn up, inside and out. Jounouchi had no doubt that it was going to be satisfying, maybe tie up all the loose ends that they didn't quite understand. But he wasn't rushing into it. He couldn't make himself move from where he stood, staring at the door trying to figure out just what it was and why it felt so close and familiar.

Seto appeared beside him. "It won't open with your mind, you know."

Jounouchi's head dropped. "I can try," he said, making quick motions to rid himself of the cold. His trembling hands dug deep into his pockets, and he took hold of the the ring, squeezing it so hard that it bit into his skin. "Ain't like you're rushin' in, either."

Silence.

Jounouchi grinned, chuckling to himself and rubbing away snot (maybe blood) that dribbled down his upper lip. "Nervous?"

"No."

"Liar."

"I never lie."

Jounouchi shoved Seto gently, enough to make him sway, before he took his hand, threading their fingers so tight that Seto wouldn't be able to feel him shaking. Even if he still did. He was good at knowing those sorts of things. But he didn't say anything, only ran his thumb over Jounouchi's before he threw the door open and lead them through a short foyer and into the living room.

The bright Domino skyline shone through floor to ceiling windows, lights sparkling as rain sprayed down the length of them. Jounouchi always liked the view; Mokuba had caught him lost in thought plenty of times, hunkered down on the couch and staring out the window. There was something peaceful and welcoming about Mokuba's place. A home away from home. Though Jounouchi was pretty confident that he may have spent more time there than his own apartment, given the number of times he slept through a hangover and then played video games with Mokuba late into a Sunday afternoon. There was probably an indent on the end of the couch with his name on it.

That was where he found his mannequin: hunched over the arm of the couch. Mokuba's was straight across, hands buried in his hair to try and tame the mess back into a ponytail. He was so detailed and perfect, down to the dimples in his smile, that he didn't look like the rest of the mannequins they'd encountered. Just like the room didn't feel like just a place: this was real. Really real, unlike the other rooms caked in nostalgia and bittersweet recollections.

The familiarity of it shook up the hornets in Jounouchi's stomach again. He couldn't tell exactly what the memory was, but he knew what it was. Or his brain knew was it was and teased him with the excited feeling of being right, of telling Seto why they were here and asking him if he remembered it too when he saw his mannequin and...

...Seto didn't have a mannequin.

A grim smiled appeared on Jounouchi's face. "I bet Moki didn't talk much about what me an' him did," Jounouchi said. He refused to look at Seto as they drifted closer. "Since ya told him ya didn't wanna talk 'bout me. But I was with him a lot. Like...a lot. Enough that I prolly should been payin' rent here."

"He's a tether," Seto murmured. "He's always been a tether..."

"Whaddya mean?"

A body-heavy sigh rippled through Seto. "You'll see," he said, and brushed Mokuba's shoulder to breathe life to the memory.

"What's that s'pose to mean?" Jounouchi tried to read Seto's impenetrable expression, the hollow look that shaded his eyes and put the smallest grin on his face. Enough that he looked crazed, a tiger ready to pounce. It was enough to scare regular people, but Jounouchi knew better. It was a tired look he got on occasion when, finally, he had to concede to defeat. The question was: what had defeated him?

Jounouchi turned to Mokuba.

"...really think Ryou will come tonight?" Mokuba's double asked.

From the couch, Jounouchi's double pulled forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "Dunno. We sent him a message in the group chat, he said 'maybe'. I know we got Honda, though. He's been talkin' my ear off 'bout this place since you sent him pictures..."

Mokuba chuckled, winding the last of his hair into a braid. "Really? If he was so interested he should've told me. I wouldn't have waited this long to ask you guys to go with me."

Jounouchi shrugged. "He ain't gonna be like that; it's not usually our scene, ya know? Give us a dive bar and old karaoke machine an' we're good."

Mokuba shot a look of disbelief. "Yeah, uh-huh. Whatever you say."

"I'm serious, man!"

"I didn't say anything," Mokuba said, hands up in surrender.

"You were thinkin' it."

"Was not."

"Oh yeah? Wanna let your fists do the talkin' then?" Jounouchi's double challenged.

A brief silence, and the air turned tense as Mokuba stared Jounouchi down, silently contemplating the offer. He smiled ear-to-ear instead, crumbling into laughter after the short stare down, with Jounouchi slapping the arm of the couch and swallowing his snickers.

"Dammit, this close," Jounouchi's said, pinching his thumb and pointer finger together. "I almost had ya this time."

Mokuba walked towards the door, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Prolly nothin'. It wouldn't do ya any good to."

"True," Mokuba said. He pulled a coat out of the closet, tossing Jounouchi's over to him. "Honda said he'd meet us there?"

"Yeah."

"Should we go pick up Ryou? See if he wants to tag along?"

Jounouchi stood from the couch, shrugging his coat on. "I don't see why not. I mean, he's not outta the way to get Chie-chan."

Mokuba stopped and looked back, face contorted in confused as he mouthed the name. Even the real Jounouchi was unsure of what he was talking about, though the conversation was growing more and more familiar.

"You mean Chiyo-chan?" Mokuba asked.

Jounouchi's double knocked himself in the forehead. "Yeah. Yeah, Chiyo-chan. Jeez, sorry. Don't let her know I called her that, she might bite my head off..."

Mokuba's shoulders dropped. He slipped a pair of keys off of the hook by the door. "Me and her broke up like a week ago."

"No shit?"

"Mm-hm."

The pair walked out the door, but the real Jounouchi stood still, chewing on his cheek while he tried to figure out why this was itching at the back of his brain. Seto's silence wasn't helping any, seeming to be completely engrossed by the scene at hand. Not that it was anything different from how he and Mokuba usually talked with each other. Shooting the shit before going out, nothing serious.

Seto walked ahead, pulling Jounouchi's arm to tug him along, catching the door before it closed.

"Man, that sucks..."Jounouchi's double lamented. They began down the stairs.

"Tell me about it."

"What happened?"

"Nothing," Mokuba replied. Jounouchi's double nodded shortly. "Or mostly nothing. She complained that I worked too much. Which I get. We've been super busy lately, but I'm not sure what she thought she was getting into when we started dating."

"I have a few guesses," Jounouchi's double muttered.

Mokuba side-eyed him. "She wasn't like the others though. She was humble; she didn't think she was going to be in magazines or get a bunch of expensive gifts or anything. She didn't even want to take the earrings I got her for Valentine's Day, she said they'd be too much and—,"

"Did she take 'em?"

Mokuba blinked. "Well, yeah. I told her that I got them for her. That I wanted her to have them."

"So she really didn't put up much of a fight, then?" Jounouchi's double asked. They rounded another landing, but Mokuba stopped at the second to last step. Seto let go of Jounouchi's hand and continued, standing in the middle of the pair, studying them. "Look, I don't mean that the way it sounds, more like...crap, okay so...take it from a bit of experience. If she were the humble kind, didn't want the gift, she'd shove it back in your face an' tell ya t' get her an ice cream."

Mokuba's brows furrowed, but raised soon after, his face softening. "Like you?" He asked softly. Jounouchi didn't have time to respond before he sighed. "Maybe. But...she really did seem different."

"Yeah, man, I know."

"She was funny and sweet and...cute."

"Yup. And there will be plenty others," Jounouchi's double said, clapping Mokuba on the shoulder. "You'll find the right one here eventually. She'll just sorta...fall into your lap an' you aren't even gonna know it's her."

They continued down the stairs.

Seto crossed his arms, falling into step with Jounouchi. "'Taken from experience'," he said, and Jounouchi's ears began to sizzle, burning up into his cheeks. "Like the incident with the shoes?"

"N-no."

"So you didn't throw a pair of shoes at me?"

"I didn't throw 'em...just tossed 'em to the side," Jounouchi deflected, glancing off to the ceiling, suddenly enjoying the crown moulding. "Your face jus' happened to be on the side..."

"I see. That's not how I remember it," Seto said.

Too bad they didn't see _that_ as a memory, if only Jounouchi could have something a little more light-hearted to watch. Something that wasn't making him feel a little more nauseous the further along they went. "It was good t' get the point across t' Moki," Jounouchi said.

"I suppose," Seto agreed tentatively. "I'm not exactly the person to eschew romantic advice."

"Yeah, me either."

"Clearly not, Katsuya."

"What, that? Pfft, that's not advice. That was jus' us talkin'," Jounouchi said, he bounded ahead before Seto could give him another incredulous comeback. The truth was, he helped Mokuba any way he could. Most of it was just moral support, half-assed advice and company; the kid seemed to know how to live life, how to survive on his own, how to find his own success. Seto had reared him perfect in that regard, beyond the fact that Mokuba was far more outgoing.

But too many years of being around Mokuba made it hard for him to just keep his mouth shut. Or to just stop seeing him. The kid had become like another sibling to him; they were family for the longest time, there was no changing that in Jounouchi's mind. That they hadn't drifted apart despite the break-up, especially considering the hard rule Seto had passed down about him never being mentioned in Seto's presence, was a miracle. Or maybe just Jounouchi's stubbornness.

"So," Jounouchi's double began, hesitant and drawing in a breath. The real Jounouchi copied him. "You're single now. And I bet Kaiba ain't seein' anyone. Is he?"

"Why?" Mokuba laughed. "You gonna tell them to back off?"

The double's nose curled. "Nah, nothin' like that! I was jus'...curious," he trailed off. His jaw hung loose, his eyes darting between Mokuba and the floor several times before he said: "Jus' ain't heard much about him lately. Not that I follow it or nothin'. He's sorta hard t' ignore when any of those stupid gossip ladies hear anythin' about him and, anyways I...well, long and short I been thinkin' 'bout him here the past few...weeks."

Weeks. Years. Same difference. This was nothing new to Seto. He'd freely admitted that he thought about the man frequently, and recalled that he wasn't alone. But for the longest time, hanging out with Mokuba had been his only reminders, however unhealthy they were. He made sure never to say anything, and Mokuba was kind enough never to press. Their friendship was far larger than that. But Seto was right:

Mokuba was a tether.

He held onto everything: memories, secrets, friends. He stood somewhere in the middle of their hate and dispassion, while still holding onto the ring. As if he knew something they didn't know, and was biding his time.

"Sometimes I miss him."

"Yeah?" Mokuba asked, and gave rapt attention as they wound down the last set of stairs to the first floor.

"Yeah. Ain't no one like Kaiba Seto. Everythin' else I've sorta seen or thought about jus' don't compare. Like, there's things ya want, things ya expect outta people 'bout how ya wanna be treated. God knows I never expected it t' be how your brother treated me, but I guess I never really knew 'til I was with him." Jounouchi's double pulled his hands out of his pockets. One of them was still balled up tight. "Anyways, I'm ramblin' about stupid stuff."

"You're fine, Jou. I don't mind listening," Mokuba said. His face lit up, though he was trying to button down the smile and failing, instead feigning interest in his phone. Jounouchi's double noticed, sucking in a breath.

"What I've been thinkin' 'bout, mainly, is what would happen if I tried to say 'hi'. At a tournament, or one of those duellist galas like where we hit things off before. It's dumb. He'd prolly have Isono drag me outta the place, but I still wanna do it," Jounouchi said.

"What makes you think he'd do that?"

"Logic," Jounouchi said. He opened up the door for Mokuba, and the four of them walked outside. Across the street was a sleek black car. It's driver, middle-aged man in a grey suit and flat-billed cap, stood in front of it. He waved to Mokuba before pulling his hands behind his back. "We didn't exactly end the right way. I don't see him wastin' any of his time listenin' to me try and apologise for bein' stupid."

Briefly, Mokuba glanced up from his phone. "You want to apologise?"

"Yeah. Stupid, huh?" Jounouchi huffed. He glanced down to the folded paper in his hand, thumbing through the creases to open it up. "Maybe I could jus' have him read this. You could give him to him, tell him it's from me, an'...that I'm sorry?"

The hornets stung in Jounouchi's stomach, again and again, until he wanted to double over.

No.

God, no.

This was the night he was hit. There wasn't a doubt in his mind.

Any other time, he would have remembered this delicate, this important of a conversation between him and Mokuba. Weeks before this, he had plotted every word in his, constantly working up the courage to say anything. Part of him anticipated Mokuba shooting him down, telling him that Seto had already given him instruction to deny any attempts. Or maybe he would feel scorned, like he was just some middle-man and Jounouchi had been playing the long con.

He wasn't ready for this. For Mokuba's answer. For anything that happened after this. His body ached just thinking about it.

Mokuba took the paper. "What is this?"

"Nothin'!" Jounouchi's double said, rubbing the back of his head. "Somethin' dumb between me and your brother. He'll get it, hopefully. So, will ya give it to him? It's cool if you don't, really. It was jus' somethin' stupid I had in mind and—,"

"Of course, Jou. I'd be happy to," Mokuba beamed. He folded the paper and stuck it in his jacket pocket. "I won't even read it. How about that? It's only for nii-sama."

"Thanks, kiddo."

"Not a problem," Mokuba said, giving a thumbs up. He looked to the crosswalk sign as it counted down, heading out just as it hit zero and clicked over. Jounouchi's double, stunned and relieved, nodded to himself before catching up to Mokuba, walking ahead, pivoting and goading Mokuba to walk faster, getting a middle finger in response before he went back to his phone.

It happened faster than the Jounouchi could register. There wasn't even a car, just a smudge of red and bright headlights. Tires squealed against the pavement, losing traction.

"Make it stop. I don't wanna see this, it's not gonna..."his voice broke, and he staggered forward, heading towards the memory but looking to the ground as it began to warp beneath his feet, shivering and shaking. His head snapped up, dark curiosity drawing him to the scene while every cell in his body begged him not to.

Glass shattered, muffling the scream. Pieces of the sky came crashing down, making Jounouchi jump backward, hitting Seto's chest. It covered the worst parts of the accident which, at its best, was a series of blurs and colours, vaguely in the direction of a motion. Jounouchi didn't need exact details to know what happened, to see his body be thrown back, or to experience the pain as it burst through his body.

A headache pulled behind his eyes, leaving him weak, almost unable to stand were it not for Seto clutching him.

The world around them was fading, falling into pieces just like the sky. Soon, the only thing around was his body laying on the ground with Mokuba panicking beside him, shouting something that he couldn't hear, gingerly touching his shoulder before pulling away and pressing his phone to his ear. Stars glittered around them. So many stars. As if they had been swallowed by the falling sky. Jounouchi remembered looking at Mokuba's face, and then turning to the stars, holding onto life.

"...Seto..."

Mokuba shook his head. "No...Jou, shh, it's okay..."

"...I...need ya...to...Seto..."

"I know, I know. It's okay, Jou. Just hold on," Mokuba gulped down a sob. "Just hold on."

The memory slowly faded out, Mokuba vanishing into a cloud of dust that littered itself amongst the starry floor. It took Jounouchi's body just a little longer, holding onto consciousness and eyes swimming with tears that cut through the blood running down his bruised cheeks. A single line made it to his chin, fighting a hard fight, before falling into a shard, clattering on the ground.

Jounouchi reeled, processing everything, untensing his too taut muscles to make some of the pain go away. It wasn't real pain, though he felt it cored deep, the aftermath of a tough fistfight. Except worse. Was this what he would feel if he woke up, he wondered. Maybe it was real.

"Breathe, Katsuya," Seto commanded.

Seto.

Seto had watched all the whole scene, calm and quiet. Gently, he unwound from Jounouchi and went over to the shard, picking it up and pressing it between his fingers. "I had a feeling this was the memory."

"I don't remember it though," Jounouchi replied. He felt so empty.

"That you know of." Seto walked back, rolling the shard against his thumb. "Your subconscious knows, though. You were awake long enough to take in what happened."

A half-hearted smile came and went, and Jounouchi stared at Seto until his face became unfocused. A pair of deep blue eyes, staring. "You were the last thing I was thinkin' about."

Silence.

Jounouchi's tongue swelled in his mouth. "I was right," he said, softly at first. "I was right! This whole time, this game's been leadin' us here. It _was_ about us the whole time! This was a memory I needed t' process, to figure out. Of course it's the final piece of all of this," Jounouchi said. Albeit sickened, he was proud to have saw it. Knowing that he had asked, and that Seto has saw, made the hornets in his stomach disappear. "You were the last thing on my mind; our relationship or whatever it was...was the last thing I was talkin' about..."

Seto's lips twitched, and he looked away. Disbelief coloured a small laugh. "Mokuba knew," Seto said, almost inaudible.

"Knew what?"

"What you said last," Seto sighed, his hand writhing out of Jounouchi's grip. "I don't imagine he actually knew what he meant; he doesn't remember much from seeing you hit, but he told me something interesting. He said 'he needs you'. I thought he was just trying to guilt me."

"Jackass," Jounouchi muttered, but smiled afterwords. "Eh, you still came, though, didn't ya?"

"Clearly."

"I mean before all this stuff," he said, waving his arm around the world.

"Yes."

No pause, though there was a tremor far back in his voice. Maybe hesitant to admit that he was worried, but Jounouchi didn't have to ask. If Seto went to see him, he would have done it of his own volition, regardless of whether or not Mokuba guilt-tripped him. And that was nice. As if the rest of this journey hadn't proved that they still cared for one another.

"It's time to go," Seto declared. Unconsciously, he pulled the key out of his pocket, putting it near the shard. It flung into the setting, and light engulfed them, spreading out from their feet and encapsulating them in a bubble, floating them upwards until their feet no longer touched the ground. He grabbed onto Seto instinctually, gripping his elbows and cycling his feet, looking down to the completed world around them. Colourful and alive, lights twinkling and people abound, so far as he could see.

Seto's arms became translucent, flecks of gold dust taking him away piece by piece. Jounouchi gripped tighter. "Ya can't wake up yet."

"You're waking up, too, idiot."

Jounouchi looked down at himself, at the golden outline around his fingertips. They were right, they won! He was waking up. And yet, he didn't know if he was ready. Everything was figured out in this world, all their grievances out in the open, able to worked on if they hadn't already been mended. If he went out now, and didn't remember, Seto wouldn't bother. He had said so; here, he didn't have to worry.

"What...what if we stayed here?" Jounouchi asked.

Seto scoffed. "Why would we do that?"

"Because...you love me in here," he replied.

"You're being ridiculous, Katsuya."

"Nah," he shook his head, vehement. The glow around his fingertips dulled, though Seto grew dimmer and dimmer, fading out of the world faster than Jounouchi could collect his thoughts. "I ain't. I like ya, Seto. An' you like me back. But...even you said ya don't know how it'll be out there. In here, we don't gotta think about it. We already got it all figured out."

Seto growled. "We're waking up, idiot! You're telling me _now_ that you don't want to wake up?"

Flinching, Jounouchi shook his head. "It ain't that! I wanna wake up, I jus' want it to be the same. Tell me it's gonna be the same, Seto," Jounouchi begged, but the feeling of his hands drifted away, vanishing in a wash of sparkling dust, leaving only a vague outline. He stretched through the remnants. "Tell me it's gonna be the same..."

* * *

 

Kaiba was awake before he opened his eyes. He didn't have the energy to do so. His body was stiff, weak. As if he hadn't slept at all, though his internal clock sensed that it had been longer than eight hours. Long enough that it wasn't sleep anymore, it was an illness, and they had him hooked up to IVs and a heart monitor. All things he could feel as he stretched out his muscles, arched his back, curled his toes.

The sensations of the dreamworld still lingered. Chills ran over his body, and he itched from sweat on his back and across his brow. His breathing didn't even out for several minutes, gulped down while his stomach pitted, fighting the nonexistent hole in his chest. He had to touch it to prove it wasn't there.

His eyes snapped open. The last remnants of sleep blinked away; he pulled his head to the side.

Jounouchi laid in a bed beside him, propped up at an angle. Same as he had been last time he saw him in the infirmary. Almost. Honey eyes were half-lidded, staring between him and the wall. Kaiba's heart skipped a beat.

"Katsuya?"

No response.

Elation drained from Kaiba. He didn't know why he let himself get worked up, Jounouchi had practically told him that he wasn't ready to wake up.

Kaiba sat upright, throwing his legs over the bed and ripping of the stickers on his chest. The longer he stared at Jounouchi, waiting for miracles to happen, the worse he stewed. This was all pointless. A waste of his time, his energy, his hope. All the things Jounouchi was good at wasting, he thought bitterly.

"Oh! Oh my goodness!" Mai jumped up, throwing her magazine into her chair. "You're...you're awake!"

Kaiba sneered. "What was your first clue, Kujaku?"

She wasn't listening. Instead she spoke rapidly to herself, asking herself what to do while holding out her hand and repeatedly telling him to 'stay right there' before she ran off, her heels clacking all the way down the hall.

Kaiba rolled his eyes and heaved himself upright, shuffling over to Jounouchi's bed. The longer he stared at the blond, the more the rage built up in him. "Stupid. Absolutely stupid," he seethed. "We were right there, you were right there you...you..."he gripped tight to the railing, shaking it until the entire bed shook, "why weren't you ready! We went through all that and you become a coward in the end! Wake up!" He demanded, and slammed the railing so hard his hand hurt, chanting: "Wake! Up!" until his voice gave out.

Kaiba hung his head, swimming in the disappointment when the rage drained away. He took off the headset, gripping it tight and winding up to spike it into Jounouchi's chest. His fingers loosened, and it fell behind him, clattering on the floor.

Collapsed against the railing, Kaiba leaned over it, reaching for Jounouchi's headset. The red bar on the side was still lit up; he was still inside _Invictus_ , dreaming alone. Building alone. Perhaps the same as he had all those times before Kaiba joined him. It seemed reasonable enough, but he didn't care. There was no point to this project anymore.

Kaiba had barely slid his hand beneath Jounouchi's head it, fingers buried in knotted strands of hair, before Jounouchi lurched to the side, pinning his hand down.

"Stubborn idiot..."

Gently, his thumb caressed Jounouchi's cheek, running along the arch of the bone and tracing downwards. The corners of Jounouchi's mouth curled up, and the soft skin of his lip touching the pad of Kaiba's thumb before his lips flattened again. Another shiver.

"Fine," Kaiba hiccuped. "Just stay in there for all I care. Stay in there forever; because it's so much better than out here."

Kaiba ripped his hand away. Jounouchi's head lulled towards his shoulder, his eyes closed. Huffing, Kaiba closed his fist until his nails almost drew blood, numbing himself of the feeling of Jounouchi's skin against his.

No more of this. He was done.

With his strength returning, Kaiba left the infirmary, no destination in mind. Maybe his office, or maybe home. Anywhere that Jounouchi wasn't would have been fine. Mokuba intercepted him, running into his chest as he swung out of the elevator.

"Nii-sama!" He exclaimed, burying his face in Kaiba's shoulder, crushing him in an embrace. It was returned weakly before he nudged away. "I was worried about you. You were out for four days, what happened?" Mokuba asked, attempting to guide him back to the infirmary. Instead, he was pulled onto the elevator. "Seto, what's wrong? You need to go back and have Usami—,"

"I failed."

Mokuba's jaw snapped shut. The elevator doors closed, leaving the pair in pensive silence while Mokuba interpreted his brother's words. They were halfway to the executive floor when he said: "You can talk to me about it."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Then...are you okay?" Mokuba asked.

There as no point in lying to him, though Kaiba wasn't sure how to describe that he felt misaligned, with his heart and his head both hurting, but for completely different reasons. "I will be. Give me a few days, and everything will go back to normal."

"And Jou?"

The elevator shuddered to a stop. "Still comatose."

Crest-fallen, Mokuba nodded. "Okay. I'll...keep Usami on staff for him. If that's okay with you."

"Whatever," Kaiba replied, flippant, waving his hand dismissively. He got off the elevator once the door opened, but Mokuba didn't follow. That was fine. They could figure this out in their own way, though he suspected another trip to the noodle place was going to be in order. Maybe then he might be willing to give Mokuba more details, about the ring, the game, the doppelgängers, but not now. His rubbed his temples just thinking about it all. Especially the vows.

The vows!

Pivoting around, Kaiba caught the door before it closed. Mokuba's head shot up. "The night of the accident Katsuya gave you a piece of paper," Kaiba began, heart beating in his throat. "Do you still have it?"

Mokuba looked to the ceiling in thought before shaking his head. "I don't think he gave me anything, nii-sama."

"Don't think or don't know?"

"Both, I guess. I don't really remember much," he admitted. "We talked, some was about you, and then..."his hand rolled, insinuating the accident. "That's it. I don't remember anything else. Did he tell you that he gave me something?"

"Check your coat pockets when you go home," Kaiba ordered, ignoring the question. "If you find the paper, give it to me."

"Fine," Mokuba agreed, exasperated. "But I still don't think it's real. You should still go down and see Usami. In case _Invictus has_ some lasting effects on you or something."

A sigh was squashed in Kaiba's chest, and he offered Mokuba a small smile. Something to assure him that he wasn't that walking zombie he currently felt like. He didn't blame his brother for being afraid for his well-being; four days was four days longer than he wanted to be out, even if it only felt like a few hours in the game. Though time was mostly irrelevant in a dream; the quick paced timer told him as much.

"I'm going home," he said, letting go of the elevator door. Mokuba didn't stop it from closing. Instead, he nodded to Kaiba, irritated and careworn. He would understand. He always did.

It struck him, standing in the middle of the hall, just how alone he suddenly felt. He was comfortable being alone, but after what was four days of having Jounouchi constantly at his side, talking to him, touching him, kissing him, fighting by his side, he expected to turn around and find Jounouchi there, laughing and dragging him into the office while Ebi-san eyed them suspiciously while telling any incoming calls that he was busy.

Eventually, things would return to normal; he would return back to work, and to life, the same as he had for the last two years. Nothing had changed. Even if everything had changed.

* * *

 

Days bled into weeks. Weeks bled into months. The mentions of the paper in Mokuba's jacket pocket grew less frequent. He had searched for it, never turning it up, though Kaiba shouldn't have been surprised. If it had been in a jacket pocket the night of the accident, it had probably been dry-cleaned, thrown away in panic, lost in his hurry to get Jounouchi to the hospital. Or anything in between. It never became less important to him, and he often pondered its contents, usually in the long stretches when sitting at Jounouchi's bedside.

The infirmary has become a second office. After nine or ten in the morning, so long as he didn't need to be anywhere, he would drift downstairs with his laptop and tablet, all office calls transferred to headset. Ebi-san never questioned his intentions, and never complained to make the long trek down, though she often sent Isono in her stead, who had once made a remark about 'playing messenger' to Kaiba's amusement.

Throughout the periods he spent with Jounouchi, he was relatively quiet. He didn't make conversation in the way Shizuka or Mokuba would do, despite their insistence. It didn't stop him from smiling at their terrible attempts at his voice; it was always off, and in the back of his mind, he could hear what Jounouchi might really be saying.

At the end of Shizuka's visits, she would always approach him, her sketchbook extended out to him. "A few more?" he would ask, thumbing through the sketches she had done. He always came back to one when they were both unconscious, facing one another. "You sure you don't want that one, Kaiba-kun?"

"No."

"Just let me know if you change your mind," she said, The sketchbook was handed back, and Shizuka smiled, tucking into her bag. "Thank you for taking care of him."

Kaiba said nothing, returning to work as she left, though occasionally he would look over to Jounouchi, catching his eyes open for short periods of time before he closed them again. He always looked like he was struggling, and Shizuka's sketches captured all phases, whether he was completely docile or fresh off of a writhing spell, as if his body and mind began to fight one another. It only hurt when to hear him groan.

He wondered if that was Jounouchi fighting with himself, questioning whether or not he wanted to wake up. The last conversation they had still haunted him, played back in his mind again and again, and he continued to ask himself if it would have been any different if he'd replied to Jounouchi's begging. Even now, he didn't know.

Would it be the same?

Would Jounouchi be the same?

Usami said, physically, he was doing well. His wounds had healed, leaving only little white scars. A physical therapist did her best to keep his body from atrophying. But there was no telling how he was faring mentally; if he woke up, there was a chance he wouldn't be able to function.

That wasn't really the question, but it was the part that Kaiba thought most about. Feared. That there wouldn't be anything left, anyways. And yet, he still sat, waiting, even though his chances of waking up decreased every day he stayed unconscious.

But everyone still came and talked to him, with Mokuba and Yuugi almost daily, Shizuka and Mai on the weekends, Honda sporadic through the week, usually arriving when Kaiba left for the night. Once every two weeks he would see Kawai-san who, despite her disdain, would tolerate his presence, though she never spoke. Everyone had their schedule. Everyone kept Jounouchi in their lives, Kaiba included, involving him in life as much as they were able to manage.

And life went on.

* * *

 

The first thing Jounouchi saw was dark, blinked away in a haze to a dim-blue, until details of the room became more clear. It was a weird place, very sterile. Industrial looking, swathed mostly in glass and chrome. The more focused his eyes became, picking up on the finer details, he noticed something glittering against the dark blue surroundings.

The ring laid on its side, lonely, but close enough for him to reach out and touch. He rolled it around in his palm, feeling the weight, poking his thumbs against the bent prongs before slipping it onto his finger. He didn't know why he had done it, but it felt right to do.

Every muscle had turned gelatinous, with him hardly able to manage sitting upright, though he went to stand immediately after, holding onto the wall for support.

The door slid open, and the lights flicked on, revealing an older man he didn't recognise. "Jounouchi-san?" He asked.

"Where am I?"

The older man stuttered, crossing to Jounouchi and helping him balance. "You are in the KaibaCorp. infirmary. Do you remember what happened?"

"KaibaCorp?" He repeated, and looked at the ring on his finger. "Nah, I don't really remember nothin'. What the hell am I doin' at KaibaCorp? Is...Is Kaiba doin' some weird experimentin' on me or somethin'?"

"No, nothing like that," the older man assured. "You were hit by a car several months ago; you were in very serious condition, and Kaiba-san had them bring you here to ensure you received better care."

Something didn't add up, Jounouchi knew. There were pieces missing, he could feel it. Things that he didn't know, but was sure had happened. He had put the ring on his finger for a reason; not just for nostalgia, but because it felt like it belonged there, even with the stone missing.

"C'mon, Jounouchi-san, you should get back to bed and rest."

"I am rested. Ya said I was out for several months, right?"

The older man nudged him towards the bed, but he resisted. "It's not the same Jounouchi-san. Your body is weak, it's a miracle that you're standing up right now."

Jounouchi didn't listen. "Where's Seto?"

"I haven't the faintest; upstairs, perhaps, if he's in already."

The whole room spun the longer Jounouchi was awake. There was a flood of thoughts he didn't understand, images passing him by that made zero sense, but all of them involved Seto. Some of them were intimate memories, the feeling of his hands and taste of his kiss, while others seemed like strange and vivid dreams. Riding dragons, fighting ethereal beasts, looking for gem shards in the strangest places. They felt close to his heart, like they had happened, though he couldn't remove reality from fantasy no matter how hard he tried.

Instead, he just kept seeing Seto's little grins, side-eyed looks and eye-rolls. Hearing his voice faintly in the back of his saying _: "I still love you. Somehow_." Along with a plethora of other things that came spilling out, things that were unlike Seto but still feasible.

"I need t' see him," Jounouchi said.

"I will have someone call Kaiba-san, but really, you need to lie down," the older man said.

Jounouchi was already at the door, pushing himself through every agonising step while he tried to figure out just what was wrong with his body. Everything felt off-centred, and his right leg was having trouble keeping up with the rest of him. Down the hall, he took measured steps to the elevator, forcing himself into a limped gait so that he could pick up speed.

He longed for this moment. To be close enough to Seto and give him a piece of his mind. But also to be able to finally say sorry, to finally clear the air about what had happened. He hoped, as he climbed into the elevator and jammed the button for the top floor, that he didn't regret this.

The long ride was spent considering all the strange dreams floating around in his head, slowly untangling themselves into a tangible narrative. Everything happened in a specific order, with the memories coming after they found they found pieces of the ring's stone. What a strange dream to have...

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jounouchi tried to find order to what he wanted to say. This may have been his only chance. Starting with the vows seemed best, in case Seto didn't want to hear him out. Though he might not get it—maybe he needed to take a different tactic. Stall him long enough to listen.

Shuddering to a stop, the elevator doors opened. All nervousness was squashed as Jounouchi strolled through the office with the same pride and familiarity as before.

A soft gasp stalled him. "Jounouchi-san?" Ebi-san asked, hurrying out from around her desk. Oh yeah, he had to get past the secretary.

"I know I prolly ain't on the list or nothin' but—,"

"I can't believe you're here."

Jounouchi blushed. "Yeah, I know. Look, I'll make it fast, really. But I'm here already, could ya let me talk t' him for a few minutes?"

"I don't see why not," she said after very little contemplation. Hard to read as she ever was, though he was sure he caught a coy smile on her face. "Here, I was just about to take him coffee."

The warm cup was plopped into his hands. "Oh good, a distraction."

Going ahead of him, Ebi-san knocked on the door, and a stern: "Enter," was heard before she pushed it open. She never walked past the threshold, but said:

"Good morning, Kaiba-san. You have someone here for an early meeting."

"Tell them I'm not interested," Seto said. His head was still down, skimming through a file. Carefully, Jounouchi shuffled in, trying not to let the unevenness of his walk spill coffee all over the floor. The door closed behind him, and approached the desk, setting he set the coffee cup down and pushing it towards Seto. "I can't imagine who has the audacity to just walk in here and demand a meeting. You know I don't do that sort of thing..."

"Well, she made an exception."

Seto's head snapped up, eyes wide. "Katsuya."

"Seto."

Several moments past, which should have gave Jounouchi ample time to prepare something to say, but all sense evacuated. Instead, he pulled up a chair where his weak leg wanted to give out, pressing his hands on Seto's desk, hoping he noticed the ring.

"I made Kaiba Seto speechless; I'm kinda flattered," he laughed. Seto stood from his desk and stepped around. Panic mode set in. "Look, I get it, I'm prolly the last person ya want to see. We didn't leave on good terms, I know, I'm sorry I fucked up and...ya know, we're both a little hard-headed but man, you were annoying at the time and you..."

"You don't remember anything," Seto deadpanned.

It stopped Jounouchi in his tracks, which he figured was a good thing, considering his brain thought to launch into an insult in the middle of trying to apologise. "Remember what?"

Seto leaned on his desk beside Jounouchi, ankles and arms crossed, looking down and stalling his answer to admire over the ring on Jounouchi's finger. His fist clenched, hiding the ring beneath his other hand. This was so stupid. It wasn't going to work, he wasn't even sure why he tried. Having him in the infirmary was probably Mokuba's idea anyways.

"Nothing, continue," Seto said. A pair of eyes were suddenly on Jounouchi, and he squirmed, trying to pick back up where he left off. But his thoughts were invasive, with words coming back to him, assaulting him, leaving him confused and shaken but loved all at the same time. He heard something very specific, in regards to memory: " _If you wake up, and you don't remember any of this, then we're better off staying as we were..."_

All words were lost, and Jounouchi shook his head. He confused the dreams with reality. How could he have a dream where he saw into Seto's world? Where he wanted to erase memories, pretend their relationship no longer existed?

"Do...do ya have the picture?" Jounouchi asked. His mouth knew what his brain didn't.

"I'm sorry?"

"The picture." Jounouchi stood, reaching over to Seto and touching his chest. "In your locket. There was a picture ya put of me. Ya said ya never told me, but I saw it..."

Pulling on the back chain of the locket, Seto eases it out from his shirt, clicking it open. Jounouchi saw Mokuba's old picture from the orphanage, worn as it ever was, displayed to him. Fear gripped him, but he didn't back down, sliding his fingernail along the edge and popping out the corner.

There it was. His picture. Crumpled and torn, hidden from sight by Seto's heart, just like the memory said.

The realness of whatever happened was distinct, but fragmented. He couldn't decide whether it was a dream, or if Seto really did try and help him wake up. The picture was somewhere in the middle—connecting his reality and his dream.

"So you remember something?" Seto asked.

"I dunno what I remember," Jounouchi said. "I dunno if it's real an' you were there, or if I'm jus' imaginin' things. But...I love ya. And I think somewhere in there, you said ya love me back. Even after all the stupid shit. So I don't know if I remember all of it, but I don't think it matters. What matters is I wanna say I'm sorry."

"You already did."

"An' that I forgive ya," Jounouchi added. Seto was quiet. He took back the locket, easing Mokuba's picture back in and snapping it shut. He backed away from Jounouchi's touch.

"Is that all?"

Jounouchi trembled at the cold tone. For as eager as Seto was to know whether or not he remembered, he seemed uncaring to the fact that it was in between. Maybe it was somehow worse than not knowing at all, because it was giving him hope. And Seto didn't want hope. _That_ he remembered.

"No. Somethin' else," Jounouchi said, summoning his courage. "For a long time, I also carried this paper with me. Had these...vows I wrote. Don't know why I carried them, glutton for punishment maybe but...but prolly the same reason you got the picture, too. Anyways, I _do_ remember those so..." he sucked in a breath, gauging Seto. Through his disinterest, Jounouchi saw his curiosity, the way he leaned forward but didn't quite give his attention, hands folded atop one another, "here goes:

"Nothin' bout this is easy. That's not to say I expect it to be easy, not with you. But that's what made it special: you. No one else but you could make me so mad, but so absolutely happy in the same minute. Out of all the people in my life, I never dreamed Kaiba Seto t' understand me the most...but, ya did," Jounouchi paused, recalling the later verses. They were imprinted in his brain, but his nerve had to keep being steeled. "I don't want any of that t' change, no matter how difficult it gets.

"I know they say people don't know how 'difficult' 'difficult' really is, but I know what would be: not bein' around you. I want t' be with you no matter what we do or say, because in the end we prolly don't mean it an' will end up just makin' fun of each other over dinner...or whenever we figured out we screwed up," Jounouchi laughed, adding the latter part as he glanced up to Seto. "I, Jounouchi Katsuya, want to be yours for as long as you'll have me. For better or worse, until we die, because by then, I'm sure you'll have found a way for us t' be together beyond that. You're that crazy."

Hearing the quiet laughter, hidden beneath tight sealed lips, made Jounouchi's heart flutter. "Made ya laugh."

"You didn't."

"I did," Jounouchi said, and he stood, not sure of his intentions. He eased around the desk, holding onto the edge where his legs were weak. Maybe the long sleep’s fault, maybe Seto’s. "I can still make you laugh."

"Meaning...?"

Sitting on the edge of the desk, Jounouchi shrugged. "I dunno. Somethin' though. An' imagine what it would be like at an actual ceremony," he suggested. He asked if so forwardly, with a head full of scrambled thoughts, still considering all the bitter things that happened, but feeling like they had gone through something that had made it better. "Or not...ya know..."

Seto stood, grasping the sides of Jounouchi's face and pulling him in close. Jounouchi jumped, scared of for the worst, until Seto's lips touched his. A jolt of clarity shot through him. Everything entered his brain and left simultaneously. Whether he remembered it or not, for that moment, was irrelevant. It was the same as before, with all its fervour, his tongue lapping and asking for more. Jounouchi's hands balled into Seto's shirt, yanking him close when they parted. He buried in head into Seto's shoulder, drinking in his musk. Seto embraced him gently, warmly. He was so enraptured, he didn't care that Mokuba burst through the door, greeting: 

"Morning, nii-sama. You need to check your phone. I found the paper you asked...me...to...,"Mokuba trailed off, the crumbled piece of paper held in his hand.

"I don't need it."

Mokuba didn't listen, staring at Jounouchi agape. "Jou? You're awake! Seto why didn't you tell me?"

"Katsuya's awake."

Mokuba stuck out his tongue, ignoring his brother's blatant sarcasm, running around to Jounouchi and hugging him while Seto back away. "I'm sorry, Jou."

"No need t' be sorry..."

"But you..."

Jounouchi shook his head. "Ain't your fault. Can't undo it now, anyways. Jus'...gotta keep movin' forward."

Trepidation crossed Mokuba's face as he looked to his brother and back to Jounouchi. Happiness swam just beneath the surface. "So...you're okay?" Mokuba asked.

It was Jounouchi's turn to look at Seto. There was a lot of work to be done. On him. On Seto. On their relationship. There was plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong, as was the nature of relationships, but confidently he answered:

"Yeah. Everything's okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end. What a weird feeling, as ends always are, but I’m happy to have made it this far, and I’ve enjoyed the ride the entire way. 
> 
> This could have easily been like...30 chapters, so many ideas and different details expanded upon, but I wanted the 16 for a specific purpose. One was to try and be concise, to finish a story on a (mostly) fixed schedule. And I did, and I’m proud. The second: each line of the story is a poem. A few people, like MistressArafax and Hiddlefun mentioned it, though I don’t know if others have noticed. 
> 
> If you individualise the chapters and use the drop down, you’ll see it :3 
> 
> The poem is, accurately, Invictus by Willian Ernest Hensley. It’s my favourite poem, and I feel it describes these two well. 
> 
> Anyways, that’s enough rambling. Thank you so much for sticking this all the way through, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please, tell me what you think! 
> 
> I’ll see you all in the next story.


End file.
